Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Examples: Monday, today, last week, Mar 26, 3/26/04
Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.

Are you seeking, or have you found?

111111 Explorer

I am curious as to the community on this site, and what your individual experiences are. I know that when I began devoting practice to buddhism, I was seeking, seeking, seeking, with the goal just out of reach, but always near. I am wondering, and asking you, the community of newbuddhist - Have you found, or are you still seeking? I don't mean 'Enlightenment' necessarily, more asking if your mindstate in your practice is one of seeking only, seeking - and - finding, or found? Thank you in advance :):)

«1

Comments

  • robotrobot Veteran

    Not seeking anymore. I know where to get any info I might need.

    BuddhadragonVastmindlobster
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    @federica said:
    Well, I do feel that the day I had the lightbulb moment and realised how piercingly Buddhism 'spoke' to me, I DID feel as if I'd come home....

    111upinthecurrentKundo
  • bookwormbookworm U.S.A. Veteran

    A fake Buddha quote comes to mind that stuck with me that says, "if anything is worth doing, do it with all your heart."

    lobster
  • BuddhadragonBuddhadragon Ehipassiko & Carpe Diem Samsara Veteran

    I don't seek, but whatever I need to know, finds its way to me.
    I study, read, practise, and somehow, in my daily life, what I have learned fleshes out to life.

    111lobsterElizKundo
  • Will_BakerWill_Baker Vermont Veteran

    On a good day I'm seeking without searching...

    BuddhadragonlobsterMahhler
  • 111111 Explorer

    @DhammaDragon said:
    I don't seek, but whatever I need to know, finds its way to me.

    Sounds like the Middle Path :) I think it is wonderful that most of you are beyond seeking and firmly situated in your practice :) for anyone else however, there is nothing wrong with seeking, as it leads to finding. I read 'Siddhartha', and when he becmes enlightened in the story he explains to his friend Govinda that there is no difference between looking, and finding. they are two counterparts to the same thing. I probably didn't do that passage justice here though lol

    Buddhadragon
  • 111111 Explorer

    @Shoshin gets it. that is phenomenal cmprehension of your 'self' or 'not self' :)

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    @111 said:
    Shoshin gets it. that is phenomenal cmprehension of your 'self' or 'not self' :)

    Don't encourage her. It will only mean more quotation marks..... :D

    ZenshinEarthninja111Kundo
  • howhow Veteran Veteran

    @111

    "Seeking and finding" are often just barrier building exercises,
    like our identity's adversarial separation of self verses others.

    When anyone offers up only two doors from which to choose from,
    it's usually to keep you from finding out there are more than 2 doors.

    ShoshinlobsterHamsakaBunks
  • 111111 Explorer

    i'm with you @Earthninja . It seems to ''me'' that the Self spoken of in the bhagavad gita is closer to nothingness than to what the mind constantly tries to label 'I' or 'Me'. I appreciate all of your opinions and glimpses into your state of being. :) and anyone else who jumps on this thread

    EarthninjaupinthecurrentJeroen
  • DavidDavid A human residing in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Ancestral territory of the Erie, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Mississauga and Neutral First Nations Veteran

    I'm still looking but I'm not looking for anything in particular.

    I'd like to say I'm looking for enlightenment but I don't even know what that is. That used to be my goal and then a right and proper definition of enlightenment was my goal.

    I'd like to wake up eventually but at the same time I don't want to reach a place where my life outlasts my wonder.

    I see the logic in compassion and plan to help when I can. Now the ideas can fall where they may and I'll have fun with trying reconcile intuitive awareness with logical investigation.

    It's all a process and every question answered is two more created. I don't really care if this self and the duality that comes with it are illusions anymore because if they are, I use them as tools of exploration while remembering that we inter-be.

    For me, the goal turned out to be the search.

  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran

    Today oi will be mostly exploring. ;)

    lobster
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran

    I'd like to understand teachings that don't understand right now.

    lobsterGui
  • lobsterlobster Veteran

    Seekers are those searching for Nirvana in samsara. Finders find samsara in Nirvana.

    I am seeking what I found. Which sounds very cryptic but is merely descriptive.
    Emptiness is Form ... anyone?

    Buddhadragonupinthecurrent
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    @Shoshin said: More are on the way...Where do you want these ones @Fede ? :D

    Oh, just put them round the Exit sign.... :tongue::wink:

    BuddhadragonHamsaka
  • Telly03Telly03 Veteran

    Both... Started as seeking, identifying a puzzle and finding pieces as I go. Sometimes while I'm searching, sometimes unexpected. My preconceived image of the completed puzzle often changes with discoveries, both in scope and definition.

    lobsterDavidBuddhadragon
  • lobsterlobster Veteran
    edited June 2015

    @bookworm said:
    A fake Buddha quote comes to mind that stuck with me that says, "if anything is worth doing, do it with all your heart."

    B)
    Exactly. Not said by the Buddha. Not authentic BUT true. You say sutras, I say stitch up (sutures).

    I am still seeking. I will seek always, until the day I die. That is the purpose of earthly life. But what I seek now comes from within rather from without.

    <3 Bravo. Exactly so. In dharma we go to the root and cause, we practice to integrate internal and external, harmonise if you will.

    “What you seek is seeking you.” ― Bodhi Rumi

    BuddhadragonEarthninja
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    "Om Mani Padme Hung!" (The Jewel is 'already' in the Lotus )

    upinthecurrent
  • bookwormbookworm U.S.A. Veteran

    Lets just say I finally know what I need to do.

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    Yes, but 'doing it'.... "aye, there's the rub..."

    bookwormhowBuddhadragonEarthninja
  • HamsakaHamsaka goosewhisperer Polishing the 'just so' Veteran

    @bookworm said:
    Lets just say I finally know what I need to do.

    I am not sure I know what I need to do, but I still do it anyway.

    WalkerlobsterBuddhadragonShoshin
  • lobsterlobster Veteran

    @bookworm said:
    Lets just say I finally know what I need to do.

    Book burning and coming over to the Sith Side of the Dharma aka Mahayana? o:)

    bookwormEarthninja
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran

    Nah, the force grows strong in Hinophiles!

    lobster
  • ShimShim Veteran

    Seeking everything but not so much enlightenment. But some kind of healing, purification, salvation - all kinds of non-Buddhist things.
    So perhaps hell is the thing I'm seeking after all.

    lobster
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    The sad thing is @Shim, they're already with you, within reach. You're just not seeing them.

    Shim
  • ShimShim Veteran

    @federica said:
    The sad thing is Shim, they're already with you, within reach. You're just not seeing them.

    But how? :o

  • lobsterlobster Veteran
    edited August 2015

    ^^^ half hearted, occasional interest in dharma. Meditating when in crisis. Generally not really bothering to have a solid foundation ...

    ... eh wait ... that don't work [Lobster puts on thinking cap] ... :p

    Shim
  • I like to found, not to seek.

  • GuiGui Veteran

    All I know is that when you're looking for something, you don't see shit. So now, for me, it's not seeking or having found. It's not anymore part of the equation, so to speak.

    Earthninjasilver
  • Both are true for me.
    I have found much.
    I hope I will always continue to seek, as there is much I have not yet found.

    lobster
  • EvenThirdEvenThird NYC Veteran

    Hmm what came to mind is finding, finding, finding... usually daily, and usually the same thing. At least as far as my regular practice is concerned.

    lobster
  • silversilver In the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded. USA, Left coast. Veteran

    @federica said:"It doesn't matter what goes on 'out there'.
    What counts is how skilfully you process it, 'in here'.

    I tried to quote the whole thing, but it didn't work out. Just wanted to say that's a very inspirational post...tight...well said.

  • bookwormbookworm U.S.A. Veteran
    edited August 2015

    Yes i'm seeking, i'm seeking that which is unconditioned, and gives supreme security from bondage.

    Earthninja
  • bookwormbookworm U.S.A. Veteran

    In the Ariyapariyesana sutta the Buddha says that there are two kinds of search, a noble search, and an ignoble search.

    https://suttacentral.net/en/mn26

    lobsterEvenThird
  • nlightennlighten Explorer
    edited August 2015

    @SpinyNorman said:
    " I've sort of forgotten what I was looking for, but that's OK, it makes the journey more interesting. ;)" I'm with SpinyNorman on that. I kind of just wander and stumble on things now. Half the time I have no idea what I'm doing, things just kind of seems to happen on their own.

  • I have found what I have been looking for but I haven't gained what I need to have yet, still working on it if this make sense to you. In other words I found the way to get where I want to be but have not gotten there yet.

    Kundo
  • @KarikoPuppies said:
    I have found what I have been looking for but I haven't gained what I need to have yet, still working on it if this make sense to you. In other words I found the way to get where I want to be but have not gotten there yet.

    May I respectfully ask if you have found the Nichiren Gohonzon/Gonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band? :glasses:

    Namu-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō

    Earthninja
  • No. not nichren or namnyo stuff. Its Lotus Sutra practice. people really do ruin a greatness of Buddha by worshiping human. Because of those namyo or other similar school? people misunderstood the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. it really hurts when I hear Lotus Sutra practice is something weird.

  • KarikoPuppiesKarikoPuppies Veteran
    edited August 2015

    I wish I could explain better but its something like learning how to swim per say. you can read about how to swim and memorize all the swimming methods but that does not mean that you can swim in the water. being a Buddhist is not memorizing and reading the sutra after sutra but learning to become boddhisattva's heart. Sorry that my English is not good enough to explain. there is expression like " read btw the lines " ? you should not take word by word when it comes to reading a sutra ( sometimes yes but not always ). That is why we need great teacher of the Law.

    if you read " sutra of innumerable meaning", Buddha says " I did not tell the truth in 40 years of my previous teachings " and he also said "throw away the skillful meanings and preach ONLY the highest teachings of the Law.( by which he means the Lotus Sutra- Lotus Sutra is the english name of Wonderful Dharma = Saddharma ).

  • KarikoPuppiesKarikoPuppies Veteran
    edited August 2015

    So when I speak of Lotus Sutra, I always be prepared to get laughed at or be hated or make fun of ect.
    That is why its "wonderful" Law, Saddharma, meaning as in mysterious.

    right now is the age of latter days of the Law. its important to know that too.

    Shakyamuni buddha said not too get upset and endure when people throw rocks at you and hurt you when you talk about Sahharma Puntarika Sutra. its only natural for some people feel uncomfortable when heard of (about) Lotus Sutra. On the other hand some people gets really happy and I am the one who was so happy to have found the Lotus Sutra, Saddharma Puntarika Sutra. The greatest Law.

    What I was trying to say to Lobster is that when you add hydrogen to oxygen, it became water. its not oxygen anymore. likewise, you add something that is not Shakaymuni Buddha's teaching to Lotus Sutra ( wonderful dharma ), its not his teaching anymore. so namyo horang is NOT Buddhas teaching anymore. I hope this make sense to you. again, my english isnt good enough to explain Buddha's teaching. my apology to you.

    MODERATOR NOTE:
    combined consecutive posts into one.

Sign In or Register to comment.