Buddhism Discussion

[Steve5380]

1 hour ago, Guest Awakened? said:

 

Verily. Even when I began to grasp Buddhism in my mid-20s—a time when life was really challenging—my enlightenment did not come from a religious standpoint.  Enlightenment does not apply to human, otherwise there will be billion of Gods walking on earth and changed the entire dynamic of lifesytle.   Simply, Religion didn't make me feel better into my late 30s, and I entered a low period right away by embracing the false belief that  "enlightenment" exists.

 

 

The Buddhist enlightenment is one kind of it.  There are various types of enlightenment, and they can be different within their types.  I have had different enlightenments at certain times in my life. 

 

Take it from an octogenarian.  An enlightenment can be superseded by a different one, the product of more esperience and rationality.  With time we can change our mind about things.  In my case, the older I get the more I recognize my ignorance, and so my "ultimate enlightenment" is the realization that I am extremely ignorant, and progressively more so.  And... I don't mind it!  Doesn't PRIDE come with knowledge?   And... what can one do with PRIDE when life is over?

[Guest hehehe]

1 hour ago, Steve5380 said:

 

At last you write something I like!   If I had written this, the Moderator may have deleted my post.

 

 

U are finally enlightened? No Buddhism teaching needed.

[Swimfun]

2 hours ago, D.0284 said:

coming from a buddhist and taoist family, i would say that our version of both religions today are very distorted from the original teachings of these religions. i was once told by a buddhist on a sutra description of heaven being filled with gem stones and luxury. so i asked, luxury is only for human. there isn't the need of luxury in heaven.

after encounter with many fellow buddhist, i conclude that the real buddhism is not about how one follows the teachings religiously, but instead how one cultivate good character and personality. I have had conversation with high thai monk on this. we have good conversation. there is another aspect with regard to spirit and the concept behind. thats another story for another time.

when buddha was at his deathbed, he did mention that everything goes to nothingness. so what is nothingness? is that because whatever he taught was nothing more than how things are suppose to work. or that everything originated from nothingness.

then we examine another great religion of india, which has the concept of going back to emptiness. because if everything eventually goes back to emptiness then isn't it the same balance we are looking for in taoism?

look, there are places of worship all over the world which require a dress code as respect. but when we appear in the face of buddha or god, does he mind? would heaven reject a begger or the less privilleged. there are even temple which require a entrance ticket.

I see temple as a place of culture and art, but not as a religious place. every space is a holy place. every good thought is a good sutra. perhaps one day when i die, i could reach nirvana like the great one too.

 

First, it is important to differentiate Buddhism from other religions. Second, it’s crucial to distinguish between religion, culture, and traditional practices. Third, simply hearing others' opinions may not lead you down the right path, as their views may be influenced by cultural beliefs, personal opinions, or even unverified sources, and sometimes, by practices rooted in personal or ethical traditions.

It is advisable to study Buddhism or, at the very least, read the sutras to directly understand and interpret the teachings of the Buddha.

 

无上甚深微妙法，百千万劫难遭遇，我今见闻得受持，愿解如来真实义。

[Swimfun]

1 hour ago, Steve5380 said:

 

I agree with you. It would be TREMENDOUSLY UNJUST if the benefits of religious practices would come ONLY to those practicing them.  There is surely a majority of Humanity that has had no chances to know about Buddism.  Why should they miss out on opportunities to get enlightened, to make positive karma?   When Buddha himself grew up, there was NO Buddhism. He came to his philosophy by himself.  Why cannot others do the same?

佛有三不度，即无缘者不度，无信者不度，无愿者不度。今世不度来世度。

[Swimfun]

I seriously don’t understand some people. If they don’t believe in Buddhism, why join a discussion about it just to talk about other religions? They can always start their own conversation to discuss their own beliefs and theories.

 

Please be respectful of other religions, and remember, this is Singapore. Be mindful of your comments here. Don’t put yourself in unnecessary trouble, as your actions can be tracked and held accountable.

[Steve5380]

On 9/21/2024 at 12:30 AM, Swimfun said:

I seriously don’t understand some people. If they don’t believe in Buddhism, why join a discussion about it just to talk about other religions? They can always start their own conversation to discuss their own beliefs and theories.

 

 

Maybe you are too inexperienced to understand people.  One should not need to have YOUR belief of the topic to join the discussion about it.   Why are you so insecure?  One can accept  Buddhism as a philosophy rather than a religion.

 

On 9/21/2024 at 12:20 AM, Swimfun said:

佛有三不度，即无缘者不度，无信者不度，无愿者不度。今世不度来世度。

 

Here you assume that the Buddha "saves" people.  This means that he is a God, and his philosophy is a religion.  You also hide your writing by doing it in a language not everyone here can read.  (  but translators can read... )  By doing this you are not respectful of these readers. 

 

Please notice that the person who has written the most (possibly intelligent) posts here is not a "practicing" Buddhist but one who likes the Buddhist philosophy: Me.  He also not only is not disrespectful, but compares this philosophy to other ones, which means that it gives it the importance it deserves.

.

Edited September 23 by Steve5380

[Steve5380]

7 hours ago, Guest hehehe said:

U are finally enlightened? No Buddhism teaching needed.

 

The Moderator would not try to silence moderate, respectful comments if it were not for susceptable individuals who cannot tolerate other points of view than their own, and claim "disrespect" to silence these points of view.   Instead of having an open mind, or simply oppose these other points of view with their own good arguments. 

[D.0284]

On 9/21/2024 at 1:30 PM, Swimfun said:

I seriously don’t understand some people. If they don’t believe in Buddhism, why join a discussion about it just to talk about other religions? They can always start their own conversation to discuss their own beliefs and theories.

 

Please be respectful of other religions, and remember, this is Singapore. Be mindful of your comments here. Don’t put yourself in unnecessary trouble, as your actions can be tracked and held accountable.

buddha was a hindu monk. when he started buddhism, he had face challenges from other hindu monks and temples too. he did not go around speaking of disrespect, instead he earn their respect from providing different and better answers he found thru his enlightenment. believing and understanding are related but not entirely the same. words could have many meaning especially when written in ancient text and misinterpreted during translation. how is it disrespectful when one understands the same text differently as what was commonly believe?

[wanton_mee]

2 hours ago, D.0284 said:

buddha was a hindu monk. when he started buddhism, he had face challenges from other hindu monks and temples too. he did not go around speaking of disrespect, instead he earn their respect from providing different and better answers he found thru his enlightenment. believing and understanding are related but not entirely the same. words could have many meaning especially when written in ancient text and misinterpreted during translation. how is it disrespectful when one understands the same text differently as what was commonly believe?

did he really started Buddhism?  This part I abit confused..agree and disagree leh. 😁

[D.0284]

13 hours ago, wanton_mee said:

did he really started Buddhism?  This part I abit confused..agree and disagree leh. 😁

well, he started buddhism after he gain the enlightenment. hence a new religion based on his knowledge on enlightenment.

 

of course, hinduism is the world oldest religion

[Steve5380]

6 hours ago, D.0284 said:

well, he started buddhism after he gain the enlightenment. hence a new religion based on his knowledge on enlightenment.

 

of course, hinduism is the world oldest religion

 

Yes, Hinduism is the oldest religion practiced today.

[Guest Wrong.]

5 hours ago, Steve5380 said:

 

Yes, Hinduism is the oldest religion practiced today.

Don't be fooled by google.  Humanism began first.

[wanton_mee]

12 hours ago, D.0284 said:

well, he started buddhism after he gain the enlightenment. hence a new religion based on his knowledge on enlightenment.

 

of course, hinduism is the world oldest religion

Hmm yes agree on this .during his era as the 1st person to get enlightenment

[Steve5380]

Today I experience the convenience of knowing about different religions, philosophies, and resort to them as necessary. In light to the strong disappointment many Americans we have experienced with the result of yesterday's elections,  where it seems that the forces of evil have prevailed over the offers of goodness,  I turn to the Buddhist philosophy to find peace.  Aceptance and detachment.  This is how I aim to preserve my happiness and not fall into depression.  There is NOTHING I can do to change the results.  

 

If instead I would apply my Catholic upbringing,  I would be preaching to God Father, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and who knows what saint, asking them to change or mitigate the outcome.  But I already know that this is not a matter for the supernatural, but is the consequence of our human nature.  I accept this, and I will detach myself from politics for a while.   Fortunately, neither myself nor my family will suffer in short therm the consequences of an evil government,  and there is hope that it won't last more than four years, except that some evil may linger afterwards.  Will see...

[Sweetie Pie]

4 hours ago, Steve5380 said:

it seems that the forces of evil have prevailed over the offers of goodness,

 

You didn't trust Buddhism to determine what was good or bad; instead, it was determined by your human nature. 

 

Although goodness had already occurred, it was frequently unappreicated and disregarded by human ignorance before taking the form of malevolent ideas.

 

 

Buddhism has already completed half of its task for your sake, human still have to work on the other half to find peace with self.

 

 

Let's hope the above teachings give you a lift into something positive to think about and not turn ugly.

[Cruiser123]

Interesting. So there’s a chat group besides this?

[Steve5380]

On 11/6/2024 at 9:28 PM, Cruiser123 said:

Interesting. So there’s a chat group besides this?

 

The best for this topic should be a chat.  A "Buddhism discussion" here is too serious and it seems to  touch many sensibilities.

[LeanMature]

On 9/21/2024 at 1:12 PM, Swimfun said:

 

First, it is important to differentiate Buddhism from other religions. Second, it’s crucial to distinguish between religion, culture, and traditional practices. Third, simply hearing others' opinions may not lead you down the right path, as their views may be influenced by cultural beliefs, personal opinions, or even unverified sources, and sometimes, by practices rooted in personal or ethical traditions.

It is advisable to study Buddhism or, at the very least, read the sutras to directly understand and interpret the teachings of the Buddha.

 

无上甚深微妙法，百千万劫难遭遇，我今见闻得受持，愿解如来真实义。

 

To a lay person, it is near impossible to study Buddhism by reading the sutras.  I find it hard to interpret even for a short one like the Heart Sutra.  But as the Buddha himself said, he had shown the way (the Middle Path) and we have to seek it out by ourselves.

[wanton_mee]

1 hour ago, LeanMature said:

 

To a lay person, it is near impossible to study Buddhism by reading the sutras.  I find it hard to interpret even for a short one like the Heart Sutra.  But as the Buddha himself said, he had shown the way (the Middle Path) and we have to seek it out by ourselves.

I have watched a video on YouTube explaining it,  very easy to understand the interpretation 

[Steve5380]

10 hours ago, wanton_mee said:

I have watched a video on YouTube explaining it,  very easy to understand the interpretation 

 

There are jprobably millions of videos on YouTube,  hundreds about Buddhism.

 

If you found one that you find extraordinary,  why not post it here?

[Derren]

Hi 

Newbie here. Grew up in a Christian background but has ceased believing I guess. Not sure what I believe now. 

Seeking for spiritual guidance. So far no doors have opened up yet. Only watching youtube clips. 

[wanton_mee]

12 hours ago, Steve5380 said:

 

There are jprobably millions of videos on YouTube,  hundreds about Buddhism.

 

If you found one that you find extraordinary,  why not post it here?

Ok you can easily search on YouTube. Anyway your replies responses always give negative energy. Ya like that lo. We shall avoid exchange any conversations here.

[Steve5380]

10 hours ago, Derren said:

Hi 

Newbie here. Grew up in a Christian background but has ceased believing I guess. Not sure what I believe now. 

Seeking for spiritual guidance. So far no doors have opened up yet. Only watching youtube clips. 

 

Oldie here.  Grew up Catholic, and was told that lack of belief is sinful.  But I never found enough justification to believe in a supernatural.  ( I prefer the natural, ha ha ). A long life has taught me that there is no need to have religious beliefs, it is enough to pay attention to philosophies, some of them from religions, to build up our moral values, instead of believing in doctrines. However, we can speculate about the supernatural, the afterlife, since being ignorant of the Universe, all our speculations have a non-zero probability, and the supernatural may be nothing more than nature we don't have access to. 

 

I have embraced the philosophy of Jesus Christ,  not as the "son of God" but as the son of a humble carpenter, who in his teachings and preaching revealed extraordinary moral values.  I also accept the philosophy of the Buddha, equally inspired.  With these guidelines I am satisfied and in peace with the world, sometimes preaching to an abstract entity.

[LeanMature]

On 11/12/2024 at 3:28 PM, wanton_mee said:

I have watched a video on YouTube explaining it,  very easy to understand the interpretation 

 

Watch it too.  It mentioned everything is emptiness but yet not nothingless.  It is a concept that is hard to put in practice.

[wanton_mee]

28 minutes ago, LeanMature said:

 

Watch it too.  It mentioned everything is emptiness but yet not nothingless.  It is a concept that is hard to put in practice.

we simply can't let go... That's why

 

不是不可以，是我们不要，不甘心。 😁

Edited 33 minutes ago by wanton_mee