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Three questions from a newbie!
I actually have three questions which sort of relate to the same topic. Sorry if they have been answered already.
1. Can a person be christian/jewish/muslim and Buddhist?
2. Do you have to accept the concept of rebirth and all the concepts to be classified a Buddhist?
3. Does taking refuge in some traditions view Buddha as a God like entity?
Im as new as a newbie gets and would really like some help. I have been studying buddhism for a year now but I am finding it hard to get answers to some of these questions?
1. Can a person be christian/jewish/muslim and Buddhist?
2. Do you have to accept the concept of rebirth and all the concepts to be classified a Buddhist?
3. Does taking refuge in some traditions view Buddha as a God like entity?
Im as new as a newbie gets and would really like some help. I have been studying buddhism for a year now but I am finding it hard to get answers to some of these questions?
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Comments
2. You don't really have to believe everything at face-value, though it helps to at least understand how they are taught (concepts such as rebirth can be taken metaphorically or literally, or both for instance). There are some concepts that aren't really debatable as far as Buddhism goes, and others that are highly debated.
3. The founder of Buddhism is never portrayed as anything other than human (definitely not a god), though some explanations may come off this way if not properly understood. The man Siddhartha Gautama who was called the Buddha was only human. We all have the potential to become liberated (this is called "Buddha-Nature") just as he did, but he lived and died the same as any human. The "emptiness" that is our reality, our true nature, is sometimes personified as a form/emanation of the Buddha, but that is not Siddhartha Gautama himself (he's long dead).
Of course everyone's going to give you different answers, as the forms of Buddhism and the ways in which its teachings may be interpreted are vast. I'd suggest starting with a good website like http://www.buddhanet.net and devouring as much information as you can until you become comfortable and find your own understanding.
2) Bhante Gunaratana talks about exactly this here: http://bhavana.us/mp3/WhatisKamma.mp3
imo, you dont necessarily HAVE to believe those things, but it 'makes sense' in the scope of what Buddhists actually practice. eventually, if pursued to fruition, you would have direct knowledge of such things and belief wouldnt be an issue.
3) i have never heard of any Buddhist traditions referring to the Buddha as a god, but my scope of understanding doesnt go much beyond Theravada traditions. I've never heard him referred to as being inherently superior to all other beings, he was just at the end stage of development.
That's one of those things that confuses people.
Dharmakaya = Emptiness, Suchness, the Nature of Reality
Sambhogakaya = (the state of) Enlightenment or Nirvana
Nirmanakaya = the enlightened being that teaches liberation (i.e. Gautama)
At least... that's what it seems to boil down to in layman's terms. The whole three-body thing makes it more complicated than Emptiness, Enlightenment and the Founder of the Path. Otherwise when someone says Buddha you can't know whether they're referring to Siddhartha Gautama or to Emptiness or what and that's how people completely misunderstand each other.
(If that's wrong maybe it's new-thread-worthy, we wouldn't want to hi-jack this one to debate the Trikaya! I'd certainly be interested in understanding it better if this isn't an accurate interpretation.)
I wouldn't worry too much about where you stand right now, when you figure it out. This whole Buddhism thing... it involves a lot of change. I don't see things at all the way I did back when I was learning, even when I thought I knew what it was about! Just as soon as you start thinking "hmm, I think I get it now"... POW, something happens to make you re-evaluate everything from a different angle that makes it seem entirely new.
It's fun though, don't be discouraged. We just keep moving closer and closer to the understanding that the Buddha and other enlightened masters had/have. It's an exhilarating journey and well worth the effort it takes to walk upon the path.
2. There's no test for what you have to believe to be considered a good Buddhist. We let the other religions get mired in creeds and tests of belief. I have been a Buddhist since I was a young man, when I came to know an old Zen monk at a local shrine in Korea. I've never been much of a believer in reincarnation or anything mystical.
3. Buddha is never seen as a god, but he is treated as a savior and someone we can pray to in some parts of the world, the same with the Bodhisattvas you see and hear about. For some Buddhists, Guatama was just a man before and after, and for some Buddhists, he became more than human. Since it's his teaching that's important to us, it's not really relevant. For many people of the world, yes, Buddhism is a practice of devotion. When we feel helpless and scared and alone in the world, sometimes it's the only source of comfort available.
Hope this helps.
A meditation practice is one of the best ways of pursuing your investigation -- an actual-factual sit-down-straighten-the-spine-sit-still-shut-up-and-focus-the-mind practice. In this practice, there is a chance to see what actually happens and stop dithering about what you might hope would happen or think should happen. You may pursue this practice regardless of belief. Why? Because experience trumps belief (with or without Buddhism) and the lives we lead are lives full of right-now experience. Your honest experience lies at the core of Buddhism. So ... what is your honest experience? Take a look. You may be both surprised and delighted at what you find.
Best wishes.
I have visited a sangha recently in london and found it all very annoying as I felt like I had to be an atheist to be a good Buddhist. Lets say they did nothing but raise more questions for me.
The mind must instead find an abiding calm and stillness, an acceptance of each moment that arises without judging it by "likes" or "dislikes", purely experiencing and seeing things clearly for what they are, grasping at nothing.
The mind finds true peace beyond this terrible cycling between happiness and suffering, finding acceptance in knowing the true nature of all phenomena as impermanent, empty of self or abiding entity, and painful to grasp. Seeing these things clearly, experiencing them in meditation and knowing their causes, the mind lets go of any actions that would lead to suffering. It lets go of its attachments, and craving due to ignorance ceases. Peace becomes well-established, and skillful actions flow naturally with compassionate wisdom to alleviate the suffering of others.
I don't mean to offend anyone, but its meeting this young monk that has set so many questions in my mind!
A lot of Buddhists believe in Rebirth though, but not reincarnation.
Then again, some Buddhists believe in neither.
it is totally irresponsible to make this statement.
Where do you get your statistics from???
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