As religions go, Buddhism can be pretty hard to grab hold of.
Ask two Buddhists what they believe, and you won't just get two different answers -- you might get three or four. On the one hand, the sheer size and diversity of the Buddhist tradition makes it impossible to say what "Buddhists" think. Remember that Buddhism has been around for millennia, and has taken root in some very diverse cultures. Buddhism in Tibet, Japan and California can be about as different from each other as Judaism is from Islam. On the other hand, you also have the gulf between high and low traditions. Even within the same temple, the monks experience Buddhism very differently than the lay believer, and both are very different from the casual devotee who pops in now and then for a quick prayer.
Even beyond these differences, Buddhism is surprisingly slippery on some pretty important questions. Buddhism does not have a formal doctrine about the afterlife, or about karma. And there is no single consensus about whether the Buddha (who lived and died in Nepal about 2,500 years ago) was a divine figure or just a really smart guy. Although some individual schools might have strong opinions on this question, Buddhism as a whole does not.
But the deeper issue is that Buddhism just doesn't like to answer questions. For those who do not know, Buddhism is premised on the idea that life is an illusion. In its basic form, this teaching tells people not to make themselves miserable by trying to hold on to things they can never keep, like material possessions or health. More deeply, if Buddhism holds that the world around us is illusory and fleeting, it also has to ask what actually does exist. The answer is really a matter of perspective. We can watch fluffy clouds float through the sky and observe that their shape is impermanent, but we also know from science class that we will see these same clouds again in a different form -- as rainfall or drinking water, and eventually as more clouds. So the clouds do or do not exist, depending on how you think about it. Over the centuries, different schools of Buddhism have pondered these same questions about our own existence, and come up with variations on the same theme. We know that we don't exist in a permanent way, and yet you can go right now look in the mirror and -- there you are!
So do you actually exist or not? A Buddhist would say yes and no, but definitely not maybe. In a way, you do not exist any more than a cloud in the sky or a wave in the ocean. Yet, the same you will finish reading this blog, get up and walk around and maybe even interact with some other people. In practical terms, in order to live in this earth, you have to assume that you and the world you inhabit do exist. The two completely opposite truths are equally valid: the point is to reconcile the contradiction, and then find an even greater truth that transcends it. Buddhist thought loves to pose these dichotomies, because they represent walls that need to be torn down. We think we know the rules of the road -- that something is either true or false, yes or no, black or white. But like everything else that keeps us trapped, the logic that creates these walls in our minds are themselves illusions. This is why the Buddhist deity Avalokitesvara (known in China as Guanyin) is neither male nor female, but above the dichotomy between male and female.
And it is also why the Buddha both does and does not exist.
Does that make Buddhism agnostic? The word agnostic simply means "without knowing," and is a recognition that one does not have the capacity to answer a particular question. At one level, you could say that you are agnostic about whether a coin will land heads or tails. It cannot be known until it happens. At this level, we could ask whether a transcendental Buddha (or God, or what have you) exists, gather our facts and form an educated guess: yes, no or maybe.
But the Buddhist approach to theological unknowables isn't simply a matter of finding data. A better example of Buddhist agnosticism come from the wilder edge of theoretical physics, ideas such as the Higgs boson, the Big Bang, or the existence of multiple universes. I can accept the explanation of why other universes might exist, but only with the caveat that it is impossible for humans to begin to wrap their heads around the very idea of another universe that is not a physical place, and where the basic laws of Newtonian physics would not apply. The question itself is beyond our ability to even understand, much less answer (except maybe with a Keanu Reeves-style whooooa!)
As always, I welcome comments on this blog, and will respond to specific questions on my personal webpage.
Just then Bodhidharma stretched his hand across the table and knuckled the monk’s head.
“Ouch! Why did you hit me?” cried the monk.
“If it is empty then why do you feel the pain?”
There is a lot of talk about emptiness and one can read pages and pages on this subject but what is this emptiness about?
The emptiness is not the closing down of the mind nor that of not thinking. Or else there is not much different from a hibernating frog or an inanimated object like a tree.
Emptiness here refer to the absence greed, hatred and delusion. A state of equanimity attain through insight of the causes of phenomenon. The realization on the true nature of things. Seeing things as they are and then letting go of those causes
When Bodhidharma came to China he stayed in a temple where there were already many monks. At that time the monks there had access to many sutras including the Heart Sutra. Although these monks were good at chanting and reciting the sutras they however lack the awakening needed to realize the depth of Sutras. One particular monk like to show off his Dharma and would recite verses from certain sutras with a pretentious look of scholarly wisdom he would impress upon other monks by reciting certain selected verses from the sutras. So a group of monks would follow him whenever he went. Now he chanced to come across Bodhidharma sitting alone drinking tea.
To show off to his followers that his knowledge of the Dharma is more superior than that of Bodhidharma he came and sat beside Bodhidarma and began to recite a selective verse from the Heart Sutra.
“ Form is emptiness, emptiness is form…..”
“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”
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Christ in John 10:27 English Standard Version
My sheep hear my voice ... and they follow me.
http://www.theskepticalreview.com/tsrmag/3hare94.html
http://jesusisbuddha.com/thundy.html
http://www.jesusisbuddha.com
There are two main categories of Buddhist practice. One who realize suffering and wish to be free from suffering. Another practitioner who wishes others to be free from suffering as well and vows to take up the path of the Bodhisattva in doing so. The tireless energy that propels a Bodhisattva is call compassion.
Some of these icons of compassion such as the Earth Store Bodhisattva and Guan Yin (also known as Avalokitesrava) represent the perfection of compassion. Compassion is a human trait and is not just limited to Buddhists, the Buddha just showed us that all these good virtues are present in each and everyone of us. For example mother Theresa is also considered a Bodhisattva for her compassion. He encourage us to develop and awaken these traits by three simple words. A Bodhisattva practices many lifetimes to save being sometime rbirth as a woman other times as man. They may even take birth in animal forms so the sex whether male or female is irrelevent . The Buddha by example encourage us to develop and awaken these traits by three simple words. Do good, avoid evil and purify our .
Now what was Mr. Thomas saying again?
But there is value in what you relate especially for those first coming upon this article to read its responses and learn something about this eightfold path.
Again, thank you for your effort to teach us.
The Buddha taught that all things are impermanent and are subjected to change(anicca). Even gods are impermanent. That statement was made more than 2500years ago but it took scientists to come to terms with this statement only in the last hundred years. Not only is this earth impermanent but also all things that in it is impermanent so are the Universes.
He also taught that there is no permanent soul or self(ancca). Are you the same when you are a baby compare to now? Which part of you are the same? You feel being the same person asbefore is because of your re-linking consciousness.
Do you experience sorrow and grieve(dukkha) if someone you love or something you value is lost? Why?
Our suffering and unhappiness is real that there is a way out of this suffering and can be achieved here and now not thereafter. The state of Nibanna bliss.
The Buddha teaches us that the mind is the fore runners of all things, to stay in the moment and to develop our mind to so see things as there are; as it is, then only will we be able to let go of that which causes us suffering.
The Fully Enlightened Buddha is a human albeit a perfect one. Perfect in virtues (Ten Paramitas). Each of his virtues are practiced unselfishly and selflessly. Buddha Nature refers to this. We all possess these virtues in various degrees and awakening. That is why you recognize a good person from a bad one. We can also distinguish a better person from a good.
Pictures and statutes of the Buddha remind us of our Teachers and his Dharma, wherever it is placed it brings about a sense of calmness and peace to the surrounding. There are practicing Buddhists and there are those who are Buddhists by name but all are welcome because eventually the affinity they develop with the Buddha will eventually lead them to the teachings of the Buddha.
We don’t worship the Buddha as a deity nor as god or a messenger of a higher power if we do so we would be demeaning the Buddha.
Very well Pratitya I shall provide some answers for the benefit of Buddhists.
There are mainly three streams of Buddhism in existence today namely Theravada, Mahayana and Vajarana. As Buddhist Teachings spread far and wide to reach many people from all walks of lives each stream of teachings have their own skilful means so that each person can understand and practice the Dharma(Buddha’s Teachings) according to their own capability understand.
For example you have the knowledge and education to use the computer and access to internet but what of those who are living in a corner of the World where there are even no basic amenities like electricity and tap water? The Buddha’s teaching is for all, it is not just for smart and intelligent people, it is about the cultivation of the qualities of the Buddha - the virtues of humanity.
Although the different streams of Buddhism may seem diverse but the basic essence and fundamentals are the same. The Four Noble Truth; Eight Noble Path; 12 Depenent Originastions; The Perfections of the Buddha. When one reaches the stage of realization of the Buddha Dharma then the knowing are the same regardless what may seem different to others. The differences are the skilful means by which Buddhism reaches out to people of various races, culture and capabilities.
Wouldn't it be pertinent for Buddhists to respond as an educational opportunity to help others understand its teachings?
Except for the part about it being delightful.
Unless you happen to like that sort of thing. (I don't. I'm not nearly sad enough for that.)
I have always found, and continue to believe, that Buddhism is preferable to some other religions in that Buddhists are more likely to leave you alone with their particular variety of ooga-booga. Unless you happen to ask them to explain themselves.
In which -- well, you asked for it.
also-
"To study the way is to study the self, to study the self is to forget the self, to forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things."