Dali Llama? (Buddhism, reincarnation, atheist, Christianity, Christians)

[Aupmanyav]

Originally Posted by anders

I'm not very fond of "offshoot" explanations.

You may not be very fond of 'offshoot' explanation, but what do we do about history and beliefs which are hardly any different. True, the explanation of afterlife in Buddhism is different and jumbled. Even buddhists cannot explain it satisfactorily. There were many atheistic streams in Hinduism. Samkhya, Vaisheshika are from the main stream. Charvak was not in the main stream. Buddhism was not something new. There were six historical Buddhas before Gautama. These did not establish any other religion, consequently, they can be presumed to be hindus. The first Buddha was Kapila, who is considered an important sage in Hinduism also. Even Buddha was not dismissive of many hindu beliefs. He praised brahmins at every opportunity and talked about 'Brahman'. For centuries hindu-buddhist, hindu-jain, and hindu-sikh hop-step-and-jumped from one belief to another, nobody cared. The differences occured only in the 20th century and were basically engineered by the British. A great many hindus are monotheistic (especially the Vaishnavas). Every line of Japji (the prayer book of Sikhs) contains the name of hindu Gods, Rama, Vishnu, Krishna, Hari, Govinda, Gopala. What should we make of it? Hinduism is perfectly at ease with even 'no God'. I follow 'Advaita' (non-dualism). For me there is no God, since I am (as everything else is), a part of 'Brahman', the universal substrate.

[Hyperborean]

Originally Posted by TripleHelix

I am a Christian, and i just wanted to know who the Dali Llama: is or who he is?
I think it is associated with Hinduism, but it's hard to find out. is Sikh a type of Hinduism?

The Dalai Lama is a political and religious figure in Tibetan Buddhism, selected by a method of searching for successive reincarnations. He is not actually the spiritual leader of the Gelug sect, with that position being occupied by the Ganden Tripa. In practice, however, the Dalai Lama always appointed the Ganden Tripa, so ultimately, that choice allowed him to control the spiritual affairs within the Gelugpas to a certain degree.

While the Dalai Lama institution goes all the way back to the 1200's, their political domination over Tibet is more recent, and was only acquired after centuries of strife between rival schools and secular monarchs in Eastern Tibet. Subsequently in the mid-1600's or thereabout, the Chinese recognized the Dalai Lama's authority in Tibet, but would later begin a series of campaigns to slowly increase Chinese influence in that region.

Sikhism is not Hinduism, but rather a syncretic religion based on Islamic and Hindu precepts.

[Aupmanyav]

Originally Posted by Hyperborean

Sikhism is not Hinduism, but rather a syncretic religion based on Islamic and Hindu precepts.

Sikhs have always worshiped hindu Gods, particularly Shiva and Mother Goddess. There are many sikh and hindu punjabi mixed families. Many hindus who worship sikh gurus STILL raise their children as sikhs. Guru Gobind Singh prayed to Shiva, 'Deh Shiva bar mohe ..'. Guru Gobind Singh performed rituals at Pushkar, a hindu place of pilgrimage. Sure, Guru Nanak's philosophy was influenced by sufis, who figure in Guru Granth Sahib, so do many hindu and brahmin saints. Even the Pakistan-inspired sikh insurgency and the later mishaps have not been able to tear the two apart.

[zenzero]

Friend TripleHelix,
By now you are enriched by the information about who Dalai Lama is.
April this year had been to Dharmashala in India where the Dalai Lama stays; unfortunately he was not available at the time as we was travelling to US as he is fighting against the Chinese govt. so that he can safely return to Tibet from where he escaped after China invaded Tibet.
It is also unfortunate that Human desire is the root of evil and we still carryon siding evil knowingly or unknowingly.
Love & rgds

[michaelm]

Its a bit like saying Christianity has many Gods....God, Christ, Holy Ghost, Mother Mary etc etc plus all the Saints that many pray to.

In Hinduism there is actually only one God..Brahman, also referred to as the 'Godhead'.

[Aupmanyav]

Originally Posted by michaelm

In Hinduism there is actually only one God..Brahman, also referred to as the 'Godhead'.

Depends, there could be many or there could be none. You can't put fetters to hinduism.

[JewishLeftist]

Originally Posted by Hyperborean

The Dalai Lama is a political and religious figure in Tibetan Buddhism, selected by a method of searching for successive reincarnations. He is not actually the spiritual leader of the Gelug sect, with that position being occupied by the Ganden Tripa. In practice, however, the Dalai Lama always appointed the Ganden Tripa, so ultimately, that choice allowed him to control the spiritual affairs within the Gelugpas to a certain degree.

While the Dalai Lama institution goes all the way back to the 1200's, their political domination over Tibet is more recent, and was only acquired after centuries of strife between rival schools and secular monarchs in Eastern Tibet. Subsequently in the mid-1600's or thereabout, the Chinese recognized the Dalai Lama's authority in Tibet, but would later begin a series of campaigns to slowly increase Chinese influence in that region.

Sikhism is not Hinduism, but rather a syncretic religion based on Islamic and Hindu precepts.

Uh...way to go turning a purely religious thread into a political debate. What you said isn't even true. China never had anything to do with Tibet until they invaded it in 1951.

[MysticSang'ha]

OK, folks. Let's just take a breath here.

Wiki does a good job in giving info about the office of His Holiness: Dalai Lama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Hyperborean]

Originally Posted by JewishLeftist

Uh...way to go turning a purely religious thread into a political debate. What you said isn't even true. China never had anything to do with Tibet until they invaded it in 1951.

Relax. I didn't mean to make a political statement. I didn't even mention the current Chinese government. I was just mentioning some of the history before our time. You might be interested to know that there were similar intrigues between the Pope and various European powers.

[Aupmanyav]

Originally Posted by JewishLeftist

Uh...way to go turning a purely religious thread into a political debate. What you said isn't even true. China never had anything to do with Tibet until they invaded it in 1951.

Check, JL.