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How has the Buddhist way of thinking changed you?
I'm curious to ask people, from other faiths, who have embraced Buddhist philosophies, how has this changed your life?... particularly in terms of your attitude to things like life, death, rebirth, karma, etc...
Do you agree with everything you have learned about Buddhism so far? Do you strongly disagree with certain concepts? If so what?...
Where do you wish see yourself, at the end of this life? another life? heaven?, Nirvana?...
Do you believe you can attain enlightenment in this life/at the end of this life? Or do you see it as a long term goal? Or is it not a goal at all?
Well, as for me personally...
I don't agree with everything. I accept any concept only when I understand it..
I would like to see this life as my final in this or any other realm because I believe further existence, for me, is futile..
Do you agree with everything you have learned about Buddhism so far? Do you strongly disagree with certain concepts? If so what?...
Where do you wish see yourself, at the end of this life? another life? heaven?, Nirvana?...
Do you believe you can attain enlightenment in this life/at the end of this life? Or do you see it as a long term goal? Or is it not a goal at all?
Well, as for me personally...
I don't agree with everything. I accept any concept only when I understand it..
I would like to see this life as my final in this or any other realm because I believe further existence, for me, is futile..
0
Comments
Do I agree with everything I have learned about Buddhism? I would have to say the only area I have problems with have to do with Tantric practices and the visualization of Buddhist deities. I understand the theory behind it all but prefer to keep my form of Buddhism more simple. I show my respect and make my offerings to the original Buddha and his teachings. While at this stage I find the rest too complicated and distracting, I keep the door open so that as my knowledge and understanding increase, they too may take an integral place in the whole picture but I am starting off with the most simple and basic.
At the end of this life I hope to simply be able to say I lived it well, did my best to follow the teachings of Buddha and that my attempts at compassion and right living would please both The Buddha and those who knew me in life. If I climb a rung higher on the path to enlightenment that will be great but I do not expect that at my age of 42 and place in life that I should expect the whole tamale in one brief lifetime. There is much in my pre-Buddhist existence that was not right.
There is no question of agreeing or disagreeing. There is only question of seeking the truth of the words for yourself, and deciding whether to accept them as your truth, or leaving them because you either do not understand them, or because you do not believe this teaching is the Truth you seek.
To be born in the Human realm is a privilege to not be wasted. I can only hope to consciously apply the teachings of the Buddha, to read, hear, and to understand the Dharma as much as I am able, and to contribute to the well-being of the Sangha in all Right Effort. I cannot predict what my future holds, so I do not seek to desire anything of it, other than to produce good karmic results from the Present Moment....
I think that Enlightenment is possible in a lifetime. Which lifetime is questionable, but I personally believe that if you are conscious of the possibility, then you dwell in the realm of Possibility.
But it is not my goal. Right Effort may not produce Right Results here and now, but it always helps to lay a further slat in the suspension bridge...
It is not sufficient to merely understand it. it is essential to have completely and thoroughly examined it with detailed scrutiny, in order to accept it and to put it into practise.
Unless you're enlightened, you don't have a choice. The Buddha tells us in the second Noble Truth that our attachment and desire to "suffering" is what brings about our re-birth. So by his reckoning, you'll be back, unless you attain enlightenment.....
Who are you to say your existence is futile? Would your passing now leave anyone in mourning? If yes, then any existence, present or future, is not futile.
* It has built on the love of sacred architecture which started with the Norman abbeys.
* It has added 2500 years of books that I'll never get to read.
* It has renewed the challenge that I experienced when I first met 'deep' Christianity.
* It has renewed my practice of silence.
Most of what I learn falls into one of three categories: it is convincing (i.e.: "I agree"), it is unconvincing or incomprehensible (i.e.: "You must be joking."), or it demands further study before becoming convincing (i.e.: "Hmmmm?!?") Buddhism is no different from any other field.
I have no idea. I make up stories just as I make up stories about tomorrow's weather. The only real difference is that there are 'convincing' predictors of weather and lots of precedent. Post-death 'survival' does not provide as much evidence.
All sorts of people whom I respect - and not a few whom I do not - speak about "enlightenment". To be quite honest, I have as much idea about what they mean as a blind man has when I speak about colour. There are times when I am sure I nearly, perhaps, begin the start understanding and then I don't. If we exist for a reason and if that reason is this "enlightenment", I shall obviously get there or not and probably still not know!
Futile is as futile does.
Dear Makarov
Thank you for your reply. Could you tell me more about (or give me a link on) Tantric patterns/visualization of deities?
I agree with your philosophy of keeping it simple and basic
(Just a humble thought from me) but (I believe) you can achieve enlightenment (or any other spiritual goal)
May you achieve your goals, may you reach your destination and thank you for sharing with me
ps: do you have any form of chat software? (aol, yahoo, msn..) I would like to chat with you sometime (if that is OK with you).
- Hope
PS: Thank you federica and simon
Your post reminded me of a time when I was studying Design, there was a (VERY PRETTY) girl who was deaf who was also studying-by lipreading and occasional written-note clarification from me.
you wrote "All sorts of people whom I respect - and not a few whom I do not - speak about "enlightenment". To be quite honest, I have as much idea about what they mean as a blind man has when I speak about colour."
well we were studying Movement and Rythum in a visual sense! she asked me to describe rythum to her-knowing fully well she was deaf really shook me up! How the hell could i do that? well eventually by tapping her hand and then drawing a graphical representation of the tapping at various rythums and tempos-I think she "got it"
now that was a challenge!-
regards
Xrayman
Great set of questions! I was raised Christian (AME = African Methodist Episcopalian), became an evangelical (Pentecostal) in my teens and left Christianity in my early twenties after my military service. I started meditating, say, 12 years ago but just took the Precepts over the weekend. What's odd is that I didn't realize how profound this step would feel for me during Jukai and it didnt' really hit me until maybe an hour before the Precept ceremony that I was making formal my conversion to Buddhism.
Buddhism reminds me to be compassionate and also to just look at myself. To be aware. It provides me a spiritual path that does not require any prior metaphysical commitments that I would be decidedly uncomfortable with.
I don't agree with everything I've encountered so far and there are concepts that I don't so much as disagree with as find irrelevant--rebirth, for instance, seems to me beside the point.
At the end of this life, the only place I can see myself is in ashes. What happens after that is, honestly, none of my business or concern.
I don't know, honestly. Again, I don't see it as much of a goal. Honestly, I practice because I want to be a better human being now, in the moment, when it counts.
Cheers
Aj
I love that! I need to remember that daily.
Thanks to Buddhism, my eyes have been opened to many aspects of Asian culture that I was previously ignorant of, or unaware of, and I still find it so thrilling to be a part of such a vibrant, colourful world. I think Gurdjieff was right- until now, I was sleepwalking through life!
I'd be dishonest if I said I understood everything- there's much that I still can't get my head around (I'm not ready for Buddhism 202 yet, that's for sure!) but as with all new things, I've accepted that, and I know with time that I will make sense of it, and when that happens, I'll be able to take things on board. As for enlightenment, I'm not sure if I'll achieve it in this lifetime, but I have something to aim for, and I'm sure that I will be able to face my death, when that comes, with full acceptance.
Two things:
Enlightenment is not something to be aimed for. It is here, now and available. We just refuse to clear ourselves and be willng to shed....
Enlightenment is definitely 'Now'......
Like the anecdote (which has, I'm sure, already been posted) ....
If you had two doors in a room, one marked 'Enlightenment' and the other, marked 'The way to Achieve Enlightenment' people would pick the second door....
We die a little every day. That too, is not something to be achieved in the Future... and somewhere, I have seen it written that achieving enlightenment is like dying - all your attachments and longings, habits and clingings pass away.... it's a bit like a death and re-birth all in one.
Padawan, let's open the door....
Padawan,
I couldn't agree more. Everything you wrote goes for me as well. Now I don't have to type it all out! Thanks!! LOL!
Brigid
Then my post would be for you too......
Yoga;
Just so you know, I'm not a he, I'm a she.
Aj
I have no idea.
I came to Buddhism from a Christian background. I came looking for answers to a lot of questions - Does God exist? What happens after death? Where did everything come from? Why do Norwich City Football Club keep losing? Etc etc.
To be honest, I'm not much further forward with any of the answers. I just don't seem to mind the not knowing so much. Increasingly, especially after Mediation, the questions just seem altogether the wrong question to be asking. Don't know if that makes sense. It's not something I expected.
Martin.
Mind you, they are 9th in the Championship league.... Could be worse...
As to the rest of it...I'm with ya, buddy!!
Once I came upon buddhism I found that alot of the buddha's teachings are pretty close to how I was already acting in everyday life without me knowing.
The one saying I repeat time and time again to people when they ask me how can I be so calm and kind all the time: "Do unto others, As you would have them do unto you"
Amazingly enough, I followed this idea my whole life, without really that these basic concepts are at the core of buddhism.
On a few other sidenotes, there is a couple things I could definately work on. Anger for one, More compassion towards other people, and stop taking so many intoxicants (alocohol, and other smoking substances if you know what I mean)
But just from starting to research the buddha's teachings, It has given me direction and focus to my already existing set of morals.
So what changed as I progressed in my studies and practice was that I dropped the attempt to rationalize, and I just began to feel the anxiety. To move closer toward it. I would think to myself, "at any given moment, there could be countless suffering beings experiencing this same thing. May we all be free from anxiety." This helped considerably, but it didn't really help to deal with the anxiety itself. What it did was it provided framework in which I could properly deal with my anxiety because I was no longer afraid of it.
The major break-through came after hearing about how some monks, following the Boxing Day Tsunami in South-East Asia would meditate while gazing at some of the rotting bodies. This was a powerful meditation upon the transcient nature of life, and to acknowledge that someday they will also die. This inspired me to sit down and think long and hard that I will also die someday. I made it a very real thing in my mind, it will happen.
What this did was it then began to make me think of others. Everyone else will also die someday, and this includes the people who make me anxious. We're all in the same boat, I realized. This really broke through my anxiety. Where there was fear of others, there was a small (and growing) compassion. There was also a small (and growing) sense of gratitude for the dharma, and for being born in a place where I can study and practice, and for being born into a body able to study and practice without much difficulty.
Of course that moment along did not cause my anxiety to evaporate.
The last major break-through was this last Fall. An acquaintance of mine was having a birthday party and had specifically request that I attend. This party was supposed to take place at a "club," here. There was loud music, flashing lights, and a lot of people. It was a very uncomfortable place, for me.
So as I was sitting there, I was noting how all of the other people were having a good time. Then I asked myself what the difference was between their experience and my experience. What was going on in our minds, what were we perceiving differently that made one enjoy their time and one detest it? I thought that to one of those other people, the reality was that this club was a fun place. That was what was real for them at that time. For me, it was different. It was then that I came to see how I was creating my own experience, how I was constructing my own reality. I watched myself do it, too. It was absolutely fascinating.
That I could construct my own reality in real-time (not just to know it intellectually, but to observe it, to understand it) was a major break-through for me with my anxiety. Since that evening, I haven't had any real problems with my anxiety. I have also been in social situations since then, and I haven't at all been bothered in the same way that I was two years ago.
What an incredible post! Everyone should read it because it holds the understanding we all need in order to better function in our realities. Anxiety and panic are my challenges and this post was extremely helpful to me.
Thanks!
Brigid
Yep definitely could be worse. Could be a West Brom fan like me
after I die, I say I will be reincarnated into another being, Enlightenment is something that, I think, I will attain in the next life (or lives), for now, I would just like my peacefullness.
so far, in my studies, I have not found anything that I strongly disagree with, although that may possibly change, since I am learning everyday.
well, leg pains and back aches are something that I disagree with:-/ oh well, no need to complain, it's my fault for not being athletic and exercising, and keeping a slouched back.
I SLOOOWWWW down and take notice of the beauty around me
I SLOOOWWWW down and take notice of the human beings around me
I SLOOOWWWW down and THINK before I speak (remembering Right A., S., I.)
It has taught me to cherish every moment, life is here and now..don't dwell on the past or the uncertainty of tomorrow.
Be thankful for all I have, for it is enough. Material possessions does not equal happiness, friendship or status.
There is so much more.......I could go on, but for fear of boring you....
Sharpie
Couldn't be an truer! Their's an aura of friendliness and acceptance here, such a strong feeling that I have felt nowhere else.
I have actually felt alot better since believing in Buddhist values. I also look at everything a different way and feel that my life has become alot "easier". Specifically, I feel more complete, and more "at home" in many different situations. Kind of hard to explain without sounding cheesy really.
The arts are going to be my contribution and Buddhism, not the teachings, but the culture that surrounds it, have profoundly changed me.
At the same time in more mundane matters, such as livelihood, I went from being a stupid brainy professor to being a more open hearted health care provider.
So it has made quite a difference, but it took a long time, like water on rocks.