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Help!
I am lost with faiths, I have taken a belief quiz and the analysis told me I am most likely Buddhist. But I need some more advice, wisdom, and the like. I will give some explanation about myself and you tell me what you think: Should I keep searching? Or should I give Buddhism a try? Or is this religion my new found home?
Those are just a few things about my beliefs.. Tell me what you guys think!
- I don't believe that incarnation's have occured.
- I believe in good in people, and that is the thing that gets me most into buddhism. Hate, greed, and the like lead towards evil. However, having "some" desire seems fine to me.
- I want some sort of strict code or guideline.
Those are just a few things about my beliefs.. Tell me what you guys think!
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Comments
I think it's a good start.
Try meditation. Practising good meditation can open up wisdom. Wisdom is from within.
The 5 precepts are good guideline.
cheers,
As for my own beliefs, I took the beliefnet quiz (www.beliefnet.com Quizzes--> What's your faith.). Here's my top 10 . . . I don't exactly look much like a Buddhist. At least, not what the makers of the quiz expect a Buddhist to look like.
1. Secular Humanism (100%)
2. Unitarian Universalism (99%)
3. Liberal Quakers (87%)
4. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (84%)
5. Nontheist (74%)
6. Theravada Buddhism (68%)
7. Neo-Pagan (64%)
8. Bah�'� Faith (49%)
9. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (49%)
10. New Age (48%)
I don't recall my top 10 completely but number 1 was Therevada Buddhism, 2 was christianity (Mormons), and three was Mayahana(sp?) Buddhism. So within the top 3 two were buddhism, I believe the fourth was Quaker.
For me, Buddhism isn't the end of my spiritual search. For me, it is the search. While I've been a Buddhist for several years, I am certainly not the same person I was when I started. However, here are some of my thoughts based on my own experience that I hope might help you.
First off, many Buddhists (including myself) don't believe in reincarnation. There are many different perspectives on the topic as well as possible afterlifes, but no universal consensus. Personally, I believe that what we call us is gone when we die. Our brain shuts down and that is it because there is no immortal soul. In a way we are already 'gone' because we are constantly changing and who we are isn't quite who we were when we were like 4 - mentally or physically. Death is just this magnified. Our bodies get reborn as animals once we are back in the food chain, but it's not like we become animals in the same sense of reincarnation. Again, though, Buddhists have many different ideas about death.
I'm a big believe in the good in people as well. And I think doing good things leads to having a better life (better karma). It's not like there's some divine being looking down deciding who deserves to win the lottery or anything. Rather, our actions have direct and indirect consequences that can be plotted out to some extent. "Good" actions are so called because they generally have good consequences - especially for society as a whole. Doing good also leads to happiness because you feel good about yourself
However, I wouldn't call Buddhist rules strict in the traditional western sense. There aren't a lot of rules to memorize like many Jews have to. And the rules we do have are very ambiguous. I like that, though. They are much more adaptable to different times, places, and problems that way. In a way, though, the rules are most strict because you might be stricter on yourself in your interpretations.
Anyways, welcome!
Still, any insight is still very much welcome