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In your own words, What do you do in your day to day life which calls you a Buddhist?
People wont benifit from Buddhism from just believing in what Buddha had to say. It is about putting his teachings into practice.
So with work, relationships, bills, etc etc..What do you do which can call you a practising Buddhist?
Look foward to reading your answers, Regards. x
So with work, relationships, bills, etc etc..What do you do which can call you a practising Buddhist?
Look foward to reading your answers, Regards. x
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Comments
Where is Buddhism NOT, in day-to-day life..?!
Simplify and be Mindful.
After a while, I don't think about "I must use right speech, I must consider Right View"... after a while (like learning to drive) things become more.... Automatic....
This is not to say I am perfect (FAR from it!) But there is no deliberate calculation.
It just....fits.
Most of the time.....
Meditate and remain mindful. Contemplate Anicca-Dukkha-Anatta and the Four Noble Truths as well as the direct experience of meditation. Spend some time on a Buddhist forum for self-help and to help others. Be kind to others as if they were myself.
Generally work toward understanding, which brings calm/stillness and peace to all.
I don't call myself a Buddhist; I'm not even a human, just nothing special.
2. I contemplate some of things we discuss here on this forum on an almost daily basis.
3. Being a regular participant in our discussions.
Know wat im sayin?
yes.
I would say that my practice that makes me a Buddhist is actually rather simple. When I wake up in the morning, I decide which precepts I want to keep for the day, and that usually means the five; not to kill or harm any living being of purpose, not to steal or taking anything that is not freely given, to remain celibate, not to lie or speak in any type of harmful manner, and to refrain from consuming mind altering substances.
After that I do my thing. I eat my breakfast, have a cup of coffee, play with my dogs, read some, and then go out into the world and take care of business. When I come home I read a bunch, do some stuff on the computer, and just lounge about in general.
When it comes to meditation I am quite loose. At the moment I'm shifting my practice from being a chore, and a form of slow torture, to letting go, relaxing, being happy, and establishing pure awareness of the present moment, and I'm trying to be as gentle as possible with my practice. I'm applying a lot of effort towards really enjoying the practice, really making it into something fun that I like to do. Some days I can spend hours sitting in meditation, others I can sit for just ten minutes, and then others I won't sit at all, but those occasions are very rare. I usually make a point of sitting at least once a day.
With that said I would like to emphasize that the meditation I practice is an all the time meditation. It is an awareness of the present moment that promotes the necessity to constantly be aware of what is happening in my mind, and to remain in a state of mind that is not caught up in thinking. I spend every minute of every day doing this. The only difference between when I'm sitting and when I'm not sitting is that when I'm sitting I'm devoting 100% of my attention to this awareness, and I am usually in a situation that has no distractions.
There are precepts that assert the need to refrain from watching shows, etc. and I usually refrain from watching TV and listening to music just because I like to maintain a living situation that allows me to practice mindfulness with the greatest ease, but like I said, I really am at a place right now where I need to keep my practice as loose and as easy going as possible, so I don't take precepts against music, TV, or movies, but I generally just don't indulge in them.
Also, I spend a lot of time walking about, and being around in the world, and am also starting to take my increasing levels of happiness and give them away to the world. I am starting to do this through volunteering, and going to NA meetings to listen to others and to share my experiences, and just in general I'm turning life from something that can be seen as burdensome, into something like a game. I suppose my Buddhist practice is all about having fun, and learning to enjoy the present moment at all times.
-Tikal
And it is well known fact in buddhism..
Buddhism is a life long practice and it isn't a belief system, its a pratcice.
"There is a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path"
Good luck!
If u have managed to write this well u could have just answered the question properly..instead, you tell me to look up another website just to find out what buddhist do..well I've got news for u....I'm a buddhist. So I know what they 'do'
I'm asking about personal experiences here, and if u don't like the question, DO ONE.
All the best though. Cheers
My teacher has kinda said that to be a Buddhist you have to hold the Four Seals:
1. All compounded phenomena are impermanent.
2. All contaminated things are suffering.
3. All phenomena are selfless.
4. Nirvana is true peace.
These are the four statements that 'seal' us to the Buddhist path. He didn't exactly say that you're not a Buddhist if you don't, but that the Four Seals are the foundations for all Buddhist philosophy and that all Buddhist schools hold the Four Seals, though they may disagree about the fine print.
(This is my take on what I think I've been taught, so if I'm wrong, that's my fault).
I totally understand that the precept regarding sexuality is only necessarily applied as celibacy for monks and nuns, and not for lay practitioners. However, in my spiritual practice, and at this point in my life, I find that remaining celibate is of immense benefit to me. However, if I were to meet the right person and all circumstances were acceptable, then I would probably make an exception.
-Tikal
A young monk arrives at the monastery. He is assigned to helping the other monks in copying the old canons and laws by hand.
He notices, however, that all of the monks are copying from copies, not from the original manuscript. So, the new monk goes to the head abbot to question this, pointing out that if someone made even a small error in the first copy, it would never be picked up! In fact, that error would be continued in all of the subsequent copies.
The head monk, says, "We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son."
He goes down into the dark caves underneath the monastery where the original manuscripts are held as archives in a locked vault that hasn't been opened for hundreds of years. Hours go by and nobody sees the old abbot.
So, the young monk gets worried and goes down to look for him. He sees him banging his head against the wall and wailing, "We missed the "R" ! , we missed the "R" !"
His forehead is all bloody and bruised and he is crying uncontrollably.
The young monk asks the old abbot, "What's wrong, father?"
With A choking voice, the old abbot replies, "The word was... CELEBRATE !!! "
But, I am a buddha, YOU are a buddha, WE are the buddha. So I was not misspoken.
our buddha nature is ever existent despite our levels, some just don't realize this. thats the only illusory difference.
I do believe we all have buddha nature within us. But if tou haven't become enlightened and found your 'own' truth then you cannot call yourself a buddha to others.
One who claims to be enlightened, probably isn't..lol
Good luck though. One love x
With Metta
1. It is hard for a poor man to be generous.
2. It is hard for a proud man to learn the Way of Enlightenment.
3. It is hard to seek Enlightenment at the cost of self-sacrifice.
4. It is hard to be born while Buddha is in the world.
5. It is hard to hear the teaching of Buddha.
6. It is hard to keep the mind pure against the instincts of the body.
7. It is hard not to desire things that are beautiful and attractive.
8. It is hard for a strong man not to use his strengths to satisfy his desires.
9. It is hard not to get angry when one is insulted.
10. It is hard to remain innocent when tempted by sudden circumstances.
11. It is hard to apply oneself to study widely and thoroughly.
12. It is hard not to despise a beginner.
13. It is hard to keep oneself humble.
14. It is hard to find good friends.
15. It is hard to endure the discipline that leads to Enlightenment.
16. It is hard not to be disturbed by external conditions and circumstances.
17. It is hard to teach others by knowing their abilities.
18. It is hard to maintain a peaceful mind.
19. It is hard not to argue about right and wrong.
20. It is hard to find and learn a good method.
With Metta
1. If your are the poorest of the poor, I guess so.
2. Define a proud man (as I can perceive, it means stubborn and arrogant).
3. Well, yes.
4. I didn't get this.
5. I read it, but it went through the optical nerves, up to the cortical visual areas of association, and most of the are lost in the abyss of my mind.
6. 100% agree.
7. True. For me, the though of ' I need that thing right now!' rises for exactly 30 seconds in my mind, and then disappears.
8. I'm not strong. In all aspects. But, as this difficulty sounds, the desire, be it an A+ in the maths test or the desire to have a one night stand with that hot girl over there is taken as a negative thing. For example, if I need to pass the test, this desire, will push me to fulfill my goal, and do all I can ( using my strenght) to pass it.
9. This depends on the mood.
10. Why not adapt to the situation to get on the middle path of things ?
11. Lack of motivation.
12. When I'm in a hurry, I tend to get really annoyed by the lack of skill and experience of beginners.
13. Not for me.
14. Not so really hard.
15. True.
16. Again, true.
17. Not so hard. I usually adapt my way of teaching ( be it basketball, karate, maths, etc) to the own abilities and understanding of my 'disciple'.
18. My mind is locked in civil war right now.
19. This lead me to being a hypocrite, a while ago.
20. Nailed it. I have to study an entire book of human anatomy for my entrance exam at medicine school. I still can't find a good way to learn.
On topic : I meditate, I sit calmly and think of nothing. People who know me, just know that I'm into buddhist stuff. Others, will tell that I am a freak ( let's say, when I'm in a group of people who don't really know me).