Best Of
Re: How important is belief in Rebirth?
Rebirth or not-rebirth? This is question which has no knowable answer. Unless we have just died and there is existence (and therefore awareness) after death. Even "memories" of past lives (which I have had) may be nothing more than an over-active subconscious.
And in the end if doesn't matter. Belief is not knowledge, and belief is a form of grasping for security (which is not bad in itself, but we need to remain aware of this). Or (as Pema Chodron puts it), seeking "ground" under our feet.
If a belief in rebirth makes us want to be a better person, then it is a beneficial belief.
Some of the Lamas I have taken lessons from teach rebirth as a literal event.
Some teach it only as a metaphor.
Some teach it as both.
Does it really matter if there is such a thing as a "hell realm" that we might be reborn into? The fact is that if we are already burning up with hatred inside, we ARE living in a "hell realm". Or if we constantly crave, are we not already living in the "hungry ghost realm"?
Which brings me around again (and again ... sorry) to the drum I keep beating ... one cannot intellectualize Buddhism. It is all about our present-moment awareness.
Re: The pros and cons of internet Buddhism
How worse is internet dharma than the raft of “Buddhist” splinter groups publishing and promoting trash to unsuspecting inductees? Even taught in person, the teachings are open to misinterpretation or falsification. As with all things, religion or otherwise, the internet should be taken with a pinch of salt, as should any teaching or education that you can’t find sense or reason with.
Lee82
Re: Considering Buddhism and money
I am poor.
Makes me rich in other ways.
For example I can afford to not be sanghafied, can get up early enough to have London to myself and the crows.
Had a home made healthy pastry for breakfast.
It is raining at the moment. For free.
I am rich poor
lobster
Re: Considering Buddhism and money
Yes, although I'm very fortunate, compared to the rest of the world. I think those of us who live in rich countries forget that sometimes... My parents were wise and raised us giving thanks for small things. Like a cup of tea. Like the beauty of the clouds. Like the fact that we were able bodied and had strong muscles for climbing trees and running. Whenever I get caught up in money worries, I give thanks for what I do have, and I end up feeling rich.
One of my mom's favorite books to read to us was The Table Where Rich People Sit, by Byrd Baylor. I'm grateful for my mom teaching me to get into the habit of gratitude early. I aim to do that for my daughter.
Re: Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
My first attempt at digital watercolour-ing using the Pigment app...
Lee82
Re: How important is belief in Rebirth?
@Kerome said:
So I was wondering what are people’s opinions on how important a belief in rebirth is?
Karma does not make much sense without rebirth. And Buddhism as a whole does not make much sense without karma.
Do you believe?
Absolutely.
How do you think it affects your practice?
It causes ethical and unethical action to be a very serious matter.
Re: How do you not hate a Hitler or people who rape young children
I have hated to, I believe, the depths of my capability.
I have forgiven the very worst things that have been done to me.
I have loved more than I can comprehend.
Of that range of experiences, I have found hatred to be the most effort and the least fruitful.
Brian
Re: How do you not hate a Hitler or people who rape young children
Who is affected by the negativity you feel towards someone or something else? The answer is only you. Look after yourself by not letting these things occupy your mind. Hitler doesn’t care if you hate him, the morning rush hour doesn’t care if you hate it.
You overcome these things by taking an altruistic view of the world. If you can do something to make a difference then do it with effort but not attachment, and if you can’t make a difference then take a neutral viewpoint.
Lee82
Re: How do you not hate a Hitler or people who rape young children
Well let me put this back onto you. Because all teachings of the Buddha necessitate inward reflection and cogitation; what we think, say and do is our responsibility, nobody else's.
So if you find it difficult to understand the teaching, I shall ask you this.
How does it make you feel, to hate?
What does it gain you?
What effect do you experience?
What do you achieve by hating someone for what they have done?
People didn't necessarily fight against Hitler, because they hated him.
They fought for what was right, they fought against what he stood for, they fought to prevent his dreams from becoming a reality.
The Hatred was a secondary impulse.
Edith Cavell was a Nurse during WW1 who was shot by the Germans, because she secretly treated and saved the lives of many soldiers fighting Germany.
These are words she wrote in her diary, before she was shot by a firing squad.
"I have no fear nor shrinking; I have seen death so often that it is not strange or fearful to me. Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness for anyone.
And it has been said that harbouring hatred for someone is either like buying them poison, but drinking it yourself, or grabbing a burning coal with your bare hand and throwing it at them. You burn yourself first, and your aim, distorted by pain, will probably miss.
The lesson in the 5th Verse of the Dhammapada, is not to let the subject off the hook. The lesson is to let YOU off the hook.
Hatred is a heavy burden to bear, like a mill-wheel around your neck, you carry voluntarily. It slows and impedes your progress, and the only one struggling to bear it, is you.
So when and if you find hatred in your heart, and retribution in your mind, understand that you harbour a seed of destruction, and if you let it take root, it will wreak havoc in your mind.
An excellent book precisely on this matter, is Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning".
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
federica
Re: How do you not hate a Hitler or people who rape young children
Yeah I understand. I felt the same way toward the man who shot up mosques in Christchurch not so long ago.
But if we can take a step back and see Samsara for what it is then maybe we can lighten the load a little.
Remember that the Buddha’s teachings need to be seen in the context of multiple lives (unfathomable time spans).
We have loved, fought and lost all beings many many times over and over again in the past and will continue to do so until we find the path out.
May all beings be well
May all beings be happy
May all beings find peace
🙏🙏🙏
Bunks