Best Of
Re: Understanding the do'er?
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is just a dream.
No rower without the rowing,
No doer without the doing.
The doing creates the doer!
Re: Understanding the do'er?
"Skillful means" is a term sometimes used to describe a Dharmic transmission being shared in the exact right time & place that one is amenable to receiving it, in contrast to
all the other times & places where that same person and that Dharma seemed to be ignoring each other.
It is not so much about saying something just because it's true. It's about getting enough of the selfish self, ego or identity out of the picture to no longer have that be the obstruction or obfuscation of anyone's Dharma.
Given that there are probably as many different expressions of meditations as there are people......(even though you & I both share the sense gates as an investigative tool)
one way that some Buddhists judge whether something is of** benefit** to others (especially on a Buddhist forum) is to look to see if that something is in accord with or in contradiction with, the four seals of Buddhism.
These four seals are sometimes expressed as
Everything conditioned is impermanent.
Everything influenced by delusion is suffering.
All things are empty and selfless.
Nirvana is peace.
how
Re: Are Precepts commandments
@Jeroen said: There is no excuse for burning the lentils if you have a smartphone. Use a timer!
How to roast a chicken:
1: Put it in the oven, at 180 degrees C.
2: Check the internet
federica
Re: What movies are you watching?
@federica said:
The Bastard Son of The Devil Himself.
The song in the netflix trailer is so good.
Re: Are Precepts commandments
Buddhist precepts are guidance.
The can be viewed as, "If you wish to achieve Nirvana, Enlightenment, the state of Buddha...However you wish to cal it, these are the means to achieve your wish.
Christians and others tend to view Commandments (precepts) as laws. Follow the laws and you shall be richly rewarded. Violate these Commandments (Precepts) and you shall suffer greviously.
The one is gently advising the path, guiding the student, practicioner.
The other is threatening, "You do or don't do this or or that or you will be punished.
Long ago, I conveted from Christianity to Buddhism in part due to the hunamistic and inclsionist holistic approach Buddhism had to life and the practice of the Way.
Peace to all
Lionduck
Re: Living without Stories
quoth @lobster > Have you come up with any strategies?>
Just the usual - recognize the problem, decide to deal with it, locate the neural pathway that is responsible, shut it off. Fairly easy in this case since I have no particular interest or personal or emotional investment in the source material and have a nearly lifelong disinterest in most fictional writing. A few minutes of absolute mindfulness usually suffices. Otherwise, just one of the cares and troubles to be got rid of by endurance. Sort of like my most recent reaction to Covid vaccine - put me down on the sofa for 2 days, hence delayed response to your question.
Fosdick
Re: Are Precepts commandments
@SuraShine said:
So be clear, is it semantics linguistically for you or is it guidance vs commands/rules?Edit - so I re-read your OP rigidly again. Your question above to me seems like a loaded gun. Hindus believe in Atman and a creator, Buddhism teaches anatman and no creator. My personal opinion - AGAIN - is that the Buddha himself has put the 5 precepts in place for a very good reason (after all, he is awake yes?). So if I am following his teachings seriously, I will take the Precepts seriously - as I previously stated. It seems like a logical progression for anyone seriously journeying this path. Otherwise, there are plenty of other ones to choose
To me it is more than semantics.
Let me put it this way. Before retiring I was a school principal. The vast majority of the time, when dealing with teachers, I made suggestions: "You might want to think about...", "You might want to try...", "You might want to consider...", and so forth. On rare occasions I would have to say something along the lines of, "Here is what I am requiring you to do, and if you fail to do it, there will be disciplinary consequences". As far as the Five Precepts go, I would say that I strongly follow four of them, and there is one -- that would depend on how you want to define it -- that perhaps I'm not as good at as I should be. But the difference is, I don't believe that I am going to be literally punished by an authority figure for not fully fulfilling one Precept; instead I realize that cause and effect (karma) may result in occasionally a bit of suffering that if I were more careful I might have avoided. To me, as a former christian, the Ten Commandments indicated an order ("Thou shalt not...") followed by punishment.
vinlyn
Re: Are Precepts commandments
I think perhaps it might be a mistake to measure the Precepts against the 10 Commandments. Smoke and mirrors? Apples and oranges? I dunno, maybe both.
If you take a rudimentary glance at the 10 Commandments, they're pretty Kick-ass, and, apparently, transmitted from an entity with a massive Egotist problem.
Thou shalt, thou shalt not... (Shall being the imperative, will being the suggestive... Curiously in the first person, it's the other way round... I WILL, You SHALL.... Sorry.... I digress....)
It depends also whether the transmission of the precepts (which existed before the Bible became a written transmission) is done in Pali, or in Hindi/urdu or whichever language a particular Hindu speaks.
Lost in translation?
federica
Re: Are Precepts commandments
Just a view from here but we don't really have to try and keep to the precepts. There is no deity that will punish us if we know better but still do something unskillful. Just like no deity will punish us for burning the lentils. The lentils will simply be burned for our lack of attention.
If we go against the precepts, we have a smaller chance at awakening. Any given action can bring us closer or further away.
@SuraShine said:
I have always vehemently disagreed with the argument people put forth for excusing drug use and the Fifth Precept (another thread, another debate).
I feel the same way about the First and eating meat but we can only control what we do. Living by example is always better than preaching.
Re: Zazen...LIVE! On a chair?
What @how said! 
I've been to two Zen centers and two Zen sitting groups. All of them had chairs and benches and your preference was not even a matter of discussion, you just picked up the one you wanted.
I too (I believe) screwed up my right knee trying to sit in lotus style. The "need" to do it that way was just in my head.
marcitko