I think I would remove the old ideas of former religions, remove the superstition some people have and actually sit people down with the Dharma and explain it to them. Buddhism isn't for everyone and I think if a lot followers understood it 100% they may switch to Hinduism as it is a better fit for their beliefs. But that being said as long as everyone is happy I don't have any complaints.
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What Would You Change About Your Religion?
- Thread starter Sunstone
- Start date
Mike182
Flaming Queer
that's quite an interesting point you've made, i wonder if you could start another thread on this at some point to elaborate on what the old ideas from former religions are, and what superstitions have become entangled with Buddhism?
in my admittedly limited studies of Buddhism, i found that as Buddhism spread over China, and then over Japan, it changed a lot based on the indigenous religions it intigrated with. is this something you would also wish to remove from Buddhism?
i'm just genuinely curious about your thoughts on this, but perhaps it could take this thread off topic...
despi
Member
1. First off, I want to say the words from our hymns are beautiful.... however, I find for most of us who are not blessed with the ability to carry a high note (or any note), they are difficult to sing....and as jonny said I wish they were peppier...most of our members just whisper the songs when they are sung...myself included.
2. We were told a couple of weeks ago that we may be called upon to give our testimony at any given time during Sacrament Meetings....I'm not sure how I feel about this. As much as I like to believe I have the Holy Spirit with me at all times for inspiration....I just don't. I believe testimonies should be given when we are moved by the Spirit to do so.
3. Can't think of anything else.
2. We were told a couple of weeks ago that we may be called upon to give our testimony at any given time during Sacrament Meetings....I'm not sure how I feel about this. As much as I like to believe I have the Holy Spirit with me at all times for inspiration....I just don't. I believe testimonies should be given when we are moved by the Spirit to do so.
3. Can't think of anything else.
Katzpur
Not your average Mormon
Oh, you don't know how much I agree with you on that -- especially about the high notes. I am definitely an alto, but unless I am surrounded by people singing alto, I can't follow the notes well enough to be able to sing them. Consequently, I am forced to sing the soprano, and so many of the songs have notes that are well beyond my range that I end up just mouthing the words.
I wouldn't actually worry too awfully much about that (well, I would, but I'll tell you not to anyway
). You can pretty much bet that it won't happen often and that it will be the Relief Society, Primary, Young Women and Priesthood leadership that gets called on before most of the rest of the congregation. The long-time stalwarts of the ward will get picked next. They've done that in our ward on occasion -- maybe twice a year at most. Whenever the bishop announces that he's going to do so, my heart starts pounding like there's no tomorrow. It doesn't bother me in the slightest to teach a lesson (particularly to adults) and I'd happily speak in church any time. But that's different. I can prepare ahead of time what I'm going to say, and work on how I want to word things. You can't do that when you bear your testimony, and I simply do not think well on my feet -- whether it's bearing my testimony or anything else (in another context) that involves extemporaneous speaking.
Here's how I solved the problem. I live next door to one of our former bishops. We really like him and his family as neighbors, but they're one of the few familes on the block who don't have pets. When he was bishop, I had Jasmine, the beautiful Collie we had to put down last summer. She loved to hear herself bark, and nothing we could do seemed to make a whole lot of difference, except lock her in the house (we have a dog door and our dogs can go out and come in at will). We went out of town once for two or three days and had one of our kids come over to feed the animals while we were gone. What we didn't plan on was for Jasmine to spend the entire night out in the backyard where she barked her deep, loud bark non-stop for most of the night. When we got home, we heard about it and had to go around to all of the neighbors and apologize for their two sleepless nights. Well, anyway, after Sacrament Meeting the first time the bishop called on people to bear their testimonies, I went up to him and thanked him for not calling on me and told him that if he was ever in the mood to spend a whole lot of sleepless nights in a row, he would call on me to bear my testimony without giving me any notice.
Of course, I have a different relationship with my bishop than you may have with yours, but if you really feel strongly about this, I would suggest that you just ask him not to do that to do -- before it happens. By the way -- I agree with you. People should be able to bear their testimony when prompted by the Spirit, not when prompted by the Bishop.
Starfish
Please no sarcasm
Here's the conservative point of view: The peppier music-YES!, but please no Christian rock. The rest I wouldn't like to see changed. I think I'll start a thread in the LDS DIR so maybe we can discuss these things there and I won't be quilty of side-tracking this thread.
I pretty much stopped going to church in a ward that did this regularly. I have a terrible fear of speaking in public and actually take medication (Xanax) when I need to. I still get up and leave when it looks like there will be extra time in a meeting. Would letting people out of church early be the worst thing that could possibly happen?
Did that. It was a bad idea. Shortly thereafter they called me to be the backup ward program maker. If I don't like getting up and bearing my testimony without notice, I'm obviously too weak to do anything of importance in the church.
Melancholy
ç°ç«¯è
Sorry, but that is out of line.
You're testimony should not be the most important part of attending your church. I find that really sad that you have that kind of pressure put on you.
I won't comment more, because it is not my place.
But my thoughts are with you.
Katzpur
Not your average Mormon
I think I'd take that as an insult, too, but it would beat being called on to speak extemp.
that's quite an interesting point you've made, i wonder if you could start another thread on this at some point to elaborate on what the old ideas from former religions are, and what superstitions have become entangled with Buddhism?
in my admittedly limited studies of Buddhism, i found that as Buddhism spread over China, and then over Japan, it changed a lot based on the indigenous religions it intigrated with. is this something you would also wish to remove from Buddhism?
i'm just genuinely curious about your thoughts on this, but perhaps it could take this thread off topic...
I don't know that I could actually start a thread about it but yes, it is a deep subject. For example in Thailand the Buddhism is mixed with the Lanna religion and the people keep "spirit houses" outside so the spirits don't live in their house. The monks in Thailand also preform non-Buddhist rituals and do sooth saying which has noting to do with Buddhism, there are also a lot of Hindu undertones and statues, I would go as far as saying people here border line on idol worshipers as they think the images have "super natural" powers . Tibet has the most complexed ritual and superstition as it is mixed with "Bon" the former religion. Ch'an in China is ok as it is mixed with Taoist philosophy not religion thus it was always tolerated by the communist government and never seen as a threat however many of the practitioners mix it with ancestor worship. I could go on and on but I'm not sure that a lot of people would have any interest.
despi
Member
jonny, I can certainly understand how you feel.:yes:
The fear of speaking to a group of people has been a problem for me all my life, but I love the church and I suppose I'll just have to find a way to cope with it.
I like your idea of leaving church early.
Sola'lor
LDSUJC
Agreed.
Starfish
Please no sarcasm
jonny, I can certainly understand how you feel.:yes:
The fear of speaking to a group of people has been a problem for me all my life, but I love the church and I suppose I'll just have to find a way to cope with it.
I like your idea of leaving church early.
When I was in college--in a student ward, this happened a lot, and it terrified me. Now--no sweat. In fact, I kind of like extemporanious speaking* because I don't have to prepare, and no one expects much. Those in leadership positions have to do this all the time, so many just keep something prepared.
And the Bishop does have the right to call on people. He's presiding and in charge of the meeting. But if it keeps you out of church, just tell him. In our ward it's really rare.
*This is one of the things I LIKE about our church. It has taught me to be comfortable in front of people. It has expanded my confidence in a huge way. Now I could speak anywhere if I needed to.
I have changed my mind-- There is nothing about my faith I would change, I would change how some people follow it.
Smoke
Done here.
How is it possible to understand why people believe the things they believe?
despi
Member
Hi Starfish!
Thank you for your words of encouragement. I guess we are all at different stages of spiritual growth...and this is certainly something I need to work on. Actually, a good friend of mine gave me similar advice about keeping something prepared, she has written something down and keeps it in her Bible for review before Church starts for that "just in case" moment!
Starfish
Please no sarcasm
Hi Starfish!
Thank you for your words of encouragement. I guess we are all at different stages of spiritual growth...and this is certainly something I need to work on. Actually, a good friend of mine gave me similar advice about keeping something prepared, she has written something down and keeps it in her Bible for review before Church starts for that "just in case" moment!
It will get easier. Gradually. I've been around quite a long time and thanks to the Church I can lead music, sing in a choir, teach adult classes, feed an entire congregation, run a scout camp
, send my son off to a foreign land for two years, and speak anywhere without warning. I used to be afraid of all this stuff. Now, I'm really grateful I was "pushed", though it often wasn't fun when going through it. Just some of the many blessings of being LDS!:hug:
rheff78
I'm your huckleberry.
Ask. BTW I that's a great avatar.