Varying schools of Buddhism (Jesus, ritual, mystic, salvation, tradition)

[Sinks Canyon]

IMHO, as I understand Buddhism to date, there are varying schools of practicing meditation and life which will allow for enlightenment. These schools popped in at varying times and offer no more than just ways of performing meditation and living life and are not contradictions in and of themselves of any of the beliefs of reincarnation, etc.

I do not adhere to the statements made by some that Buddhism is a religion. That's just my school of thought. I am under no one's rule. I am in hopes of someday finding a teacher, but you don't need to have one to continue on your path of enlightenment...at least those are my humble thoughts.

[MysticSang'ha]

Buddha's final words:



Be a lamp unto yourselves.



Peace,
Mystic

[MoFacta]

The following is my experience with Buddhism and reflects only my opinions:

I started out as a Christian. For seventeen years I was forced to go to church but no matter how much I tried, or was willing to, I never returned home with a feeling of purpose or a higher understanding. My heart was filled with doubt and there was always an emptiness left lingering. It's not that the Christian doctrine was being taught in any way other than traditional, but I began to feel, even at an early age, that the purpose of the doctrine was misdirected and the whole point missed entirely. Church seemed more of a practice of ritual, tradition and rhetoric than of true, everyday, applicable ideas. Combine this attitude with teenage rebellion and disdain for authority and a recipe for defection begins to seem evident.

So I stopped going. For the years in between my seventeenth and twentieth birthday I had little or no spiritual goals nor wanted any for that matter. My Mother, an avid, non-Mormon Biblical Christian had finally converted to Mormonism, resultantly leaving me with little faith in the concept of faith. It all seemed way to obscure and meaningless.

Then I started college. I enrolled in the Bachelor of Music program at our local community college and for some reason; which now in retrospect seems a bit out of character for me; I decided to minor in comparative religion. All it took was one semester and my eyes were shining wide with awe at the beauty of the Buddhist faith. The first class was just an intro to world religion, comprised of about 25 Mormon kids (I lived half my life in South Africa and half in Utah) and me. Revelation after revelation, epiphany after epiphany, I sat in utter wonder, class after class. The truth was undeniable. All of a sudden every word of Jesus made sense to me. The Bible was, all at once, a new book to discover and I was armed with a totally new perspective. Buddhism taught me more about Christianity and its true meaning than seventeen years of ardent, Sunday church-going ever did. It all became so clear and I believe now that that was my first experience at enlightenment.

I realized that the bible and its stories had become distorted by the very ritual and tradition held in such high regard by those who follow it. I knew that Jesus' story was had been misinterpreted for centuries and that ultimately, true salvation begins in your heart. The Bible is a book. It's the most widely sold book in the world and its words change very slightly from version to version. I began to realize its how you interpret these words which determines what you believe. For me, God transformed from this vengeful, jealous, omnipotent entity living far away to the immediate beauty of the Rockies, or the quiet tranquility of the desert. He is the compassion you have for your enemy. He is the true face of honesty, truth and light, and the force which binds our universe together.

You may think that I am still a Christian; a Gnostic perhaps. In fact, I claim no religion but what I will say is that I am a supporter of Buddhism because the miracle of my life and the beauty of existence is enough to motivate me to live in a better way. The Dharma is evident. Buddhism is the science of the mind and makes complete sense to me. In agreement with MysticSang'ha, I too believe that Buddhism isn't as much of a religion as a philosophy and a way of life. It has opened my eyes to the illusion of self, the four noble truths, samsara and the Dharma and I am thankful to the Universe for allowing me the open mind to appreciate this precious understanding and for the boundless capacity it has bestowed in my heart for all sentient beings.

May all of you who read this have a happy, prosperous, and love-filled life and I truly hope with all sincerity that you find what you are searching for.

Namaste.

[Hacker]

Originally Posted by MoFacta

The following is my experience with Buddhism and reflects only my opinions:

I started out as a Christian. For seventeen years I was forced to go to church but no matter how much I tried, or was willing to, I never returned home with a feeling of purpose or a higher understanding. My heart was filled with doubt and there was always an emptiness left lingering. It's not that the Christian doctrine was being taught in any way other than traditional, but I began to feel, even at an early age, that the purpose of the doctrine was misdirected and the whole point missed entirely. Church seemed more of a practice of ritual, tradition and rhetoric than of true, everyday, applicable ideas. Combine this attitude with teenage rebellion and disdain for authority and a recipe for defection begins to seem evident.

So I stopped going. For the years in between my seventeenth and twentieth birthday I had little or no spiritual goals nor wanted any for that matter. My Mother, an avid, non-Mormon Biblical Christian had finally converted to Mormonism, resultantly leaving me with little faith in the concept of faith. It all seemed way to obscure and meaningless.

Then I started college. I enrolled in the Bachelor of Music program at our local community college and for some reason; which now in retrospect seems a bit out of character for me; I decided to minor in comparative religion. All it took was one semester and my eyes were shining wide with awe at the beauty of the Buddhist faith. The first class was just an intro to world religion, comprised of about 25 Mormon kids (I lived half my life in South Africa and half in Utah) and me. Revelation after revelation, epiphany after epiphany, I sat in utter wonder, class after class. The truth was undeniable. All of a sudden every word of Jesus made sense to me. The Bible was, all at once, a new book to discover and I was armed with a totally new perspective. Buddhism taught me more about Christianity and its true meaning than seventeen years of ardent, Sunday church-going ever did. It all became so clear and I believe now that that was my first experience at enlightenment.

I realized that the bible and its stories had become distorted by the very ritual and tradition held in such high regard by those who follow it. I knew that Jesus' story was had been misinterpreted for centuries and that ultimately, true salvation begins in your heart. The Bible is a book. It's the most widely sold book in the world and its words change very slightly from version to version. I began to realize its how you interpret these words which determines what you believe. For me, God transformed from this vengeful, jealous, omnipotent entity living far away to the immediate beauty of the Rockies, or the quiet tranquility of the desert. He is the compassion you have for your enemy. He is the true face of honesty, truth and light, and the force which binds our universe together.

You may think that I am still a Christian; a Gnostic perhaps. In fact, I claim no religion but what I will say is that I am a supporter of Buddhism because the miracle of my life and the beauty of existence is enough to motivate me to live in a better way. The Dharma is evident. Buddhism is the science of the mind and makes complete sense to me. In agreement with MysticSang'ha, I too believe that Buddhism isn't as much of a religion as a philosophy and a way of life. It has opened my eyes to the illusion of self, the four noble truths, samsara and the Dharma and I am thankful to the Universe for allowing me the open mind to appreciate this precious understanding and for the boundless capacity it has bestowed in my heart for all sentient beings.

May all of you who read this have a happy, prosperous, and love-filled life and I truly hope with all sincerity that you find what you are searching for.

Namaste.

Mo facta I can relate to how you felt as a Christian, although I'm struggling to believe, I'm glad you found the right path!

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by Sinks Canyon

IMHO, as I understand Buddhism to date, there are varying schools of practicing meditation and life which will allow for enlightenment. These schools popped in at varying times and offer no more than just ways of performing meditation and living life and are not contradictions in and of themselves of any of the beliefs of reincarnation, etc.

I do not adhere to the statements made by some that Buddhism is a religion. That's just my school of thought. I am under no one's rule. I am in hopes of someday finding a teacher, but you don't need to have one to continue on your path of enlightenment...at least those are my humble thoughts.

Originally Posted by MysticSang'ha

Buddha's final words:



Be a lamp unto yourselves.

I go for refuge in the Buddha

I go for refuge in the Dharma

I go for refuge in the Sangha

[koan]

I agree that Buddhism really isn't a religion. It is a philosophy with a way to practice with the ultimate goal of self ( or non self ) realisation. i.e.
The four noble truths and the eightfold noble path.
As to the various sects, They are realy just Dhama doors, all leading to the same purpose. Everyone has a diffent attitude as a result of Karma, so one should be able to find a Dharma door which will open the way for them. Unfortunately, knowing which one can be hard. It comes down to why one wants to practice Buddhism and the preparedness one has, untill one finds the right Dharma door.

[Vfr]

Originally Posted by Sinks Canyon

IMHO, as I understand Buddhism to date, there are varying schools of practicing meditation and life which will allow for enlightenment. These schools popped in at varying times and offer no more than just ways of performing meditation and living life and are not contradictions in and of themselves of any of the beliefs of reincarnation, etc.

I do not adhere to the statements made by some that Buddhism is a religion. That's just my school of thought. I am under no one's rule. I am in hopes of someday finding a teacher, but you don't need to have one to continue on your path of enlightenment...at least those are my humble thoughts.

The Dalai Lama describes Buddhism as a "science of mind" more so than a religion.

Alan Watts entitled a book called "Buddhism-The Religion of No Religion" and that about sums it up.

One dictionary defines Buddhism as a religion, since it is a formalized set of beliefs, traditions, etc.

Another dictionary does not define it as a religion, since there is no central God in Buddhism and practitioners are free to believe or not believe in God as they choose.

To me, Buddhism is a peace generator more so than worrying about whether it a a religion or not.

Buddhism has and will always evolve.

It evolves from the egos of men.

99.9% of the Buddhists are just 'playing at Buddhism' and are so far off the road to classical Buddhism that their practice holds little or no resemblance to what the Buddha taught.

After all, what do monks have to do other than beg, eat, sleep, excrete, think, not think (meditate) and write.

It is through this constant need to 'think and write' that the Pali canon grew to 20,000+ pages and nearly 30,000 pages in China.

The canon contains nothing the Buddha wrote down.

It contains a small amount of recitation from his butler Amanda, but nothing original from the Buddha.

The rest is all from the egos of monks.

So it is natural that Buddhism has evolved into a watered down version of itself that the Buddha himself would hardly recognize.

When this classical Buddhism became too hard - Mahayana Buddhism was invented.

When Mahayana Buddhism became too hard - Pure Land Buddhism was invented

When Pure Land Buddhism became too hard - Won Buddhism was invented. (just to name a few)

But for the average folks...meaning 99.9% of the Buddhists. Pain is decreased in proportion to your efforts at perfecting the eightfold path.

I believe the traditional views of Buddhist beliefs of escaping samsara are dead as far as practical application for the most part of society. To escape rebirth is impractical for the vast, vast majority of Buddhists.

I'll give you an example you can all relate to.

If you are reading this you have no chance of escaping rebirth...you are too full of passion to escape anything.

What you 'should' be doing as a self proclaimed 'serious Buddhist practitioner' is; instead of reading and writing on the computer you would be meditating on the three liberation's.

By meditating on emptiness, formlessness and passionlessness, this will allow you, with a few lifetimes of diligent practice, to recognize the three liberation's of the ego and the dharma as being empty, the dharma as formless and this eventually the recognition of living is an unworthy desire as our existence is characterized by suffering.

What is the path of classical Buddhism as the Buddha taught?

From our best efforts and deciphering the jumbled mess that was handed down to us it was:

To become a renunciate and practice the 4 noble truths and through the perfection of the eightfold path to free oneself from the 10 fetters that bind a person to cyclic existence and thus become an arhat and enlightened and through a few lifetimes of such practice to extinguish reincarnation, leave the cycle of samsara and reach nirvana.

...that is how the pain of life ceases. (finally, as the story goes)

Personally, I draw from many spiritual traditions myself, including monotheism, Buddhism, Taoism as well as atheism. (secular humanism)

My main focus of my Buddhist practice is concentrated on the 3 pillars of Buddhism that are common to all schools of Buddhist practice: I've settled on the essence of Buddhism and that is what I work on and find much peace with this type of simplified practice.

3 Pillars of Buddhism

1- Practicing mindfulness and meditation to develop peace and self awareness of our own true nature.

2- Accepting the liberating wisdom of impermanence and practicing non-clinging and a lessening of craving and desires.

3- The development of compassion for others.

Buddhists are not required to believe or not believe in god, so anyone can make use of this philosophy irrespective of their religious beliefs or lack thereof. Buddha was not a god and just a man, so not need to worship him unless you are a 'Pure Land Buddhist.'

In addition to the 3 pillars, we can use the eightfold path to guide us.

The Eightfold Path

1. Right View
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration

How can you differentiate right from wrong?

By peace.

You learn what destroys your peace and the peace of others as well as what promotes you inner peace and the inner peace of others.

Do you need a teacher for that?

Or the Pope to tell you?

Or just listen to peace as the best teacher?

The 5 precepts are the 'commandments' more or less for Buddhists. Although you are not commanded to do a thing. If you wish to live at peace, then proceed the best you can - but it is your choice.

No one to boss you other than you...you alone are in control of your inner peace.

The Five Precepts

1. Refrain from Killing:
2. Refrain from Stealing:
3. Refrain from Sexual Misconduct:
4. Refrain from False Speech:
5. Refrain from the Use of Intoxicants:

Buddhism provides this tool, which is just one out of the many tools I use for peace development. For once we have found a contentment within and with all and are at peace - we are progressing on the road to enlightenment.

You can also tell when you have "arrived" by your practice telling you so. Does your practice revolve around actually practicing what you have learned to generate peace within or are you on a never ending journey of always looking and never finding?

Once I am at peace, I can share with others about finding peace for themselves, which is the secondary reason I practice.

I have no interest in practicing Buddhism for extinguishing reincarnation.

These "fear based" reasons for being a Buddhist are not authentic or natural - the persons actions are based on fear or negative consequences otherwise they would not do them.

My actions are based on inner peace and if I stray - there goes my peace - it is my choice.

I enjoy life and realize that due to natural law, suffering comes about as part of the process.

The Taoists have a saying for this, "fleas come with the dog."

So, I accept there are growth pains as a fair trade off for the privilege of living and I would enjoy any reincarnation if given the chance.

Buddhism helps makes this trade off of life and pain more in my favor by lending me support to live a life at peace. I do not practice Buddhism to earn merit for the next life - I practice Buddhism for my own peace generation in THIS LIFE.

I'd like to point out that my views are not the orthodox or traditional views on these subjects as I am an Agnostic Freethinker.



Take Care,


V (Male)

Agnostic Freethinker
Practical Philosopher

[zenzero]

Keeping on open mind one will realise that one is not a SELF similarly humans itself has evolved out of a single cell and all this is just a PLAY and JESUS / BUDDHA / MAHAVIRA / KRISHNA etc are not seperate individuals but only diffent ways of realising the same truth. You may take the same water from any point on the river bank on either side.
So, please do not go about taking any one religion as different but choose one that suits you till another is found more suitable and finally none are required afetr the goal is reached they are all ladders.
Love & rgds

[vandervalley]

JESUS / BUDDHA / MAHAVIRA / KRISHNA etc are not seperate individuals but only diffent ways of realising the same truth.

So are u saying that a christian can actually attain Buddhahood?

From what u said above

[vandervalley]