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I Yearn for 'New Age'
I believe myself to have pretty extensive knowledge on many religions and philosophies. One of the better known subjects to me is the New Age movement (or Wicca, or Neo-Hinduism, and stuff similar to that). Although I never truly believed what is taught in New Age, I have always toyed with the idea of it in my mind. When I first began learning about Buddhism, I was very, very interested in the metaphysical aspects of Buddhism; namely, rebirth/reincarnation. For me, that became something which put life into perspective, and helped me come to understand dependent arising, compassion, and emptiness. It made life a lot happier for me and my personality changed a lot.
I am a skeptic at heart, and eventually the ideas of such a thing being possible began to fade. My understanding of Buddhism began to crumble as well. I am at a point where I do but do not understand the Buddhism. To me, it just seems like Secular Humanism with a specified moral compass. I just do not seem to get it. Any comments or help would be much appreciated. Thank you.
I am a skeptic at heart, and eventually the ideas of such a thing being possible began to fade. My understanding of Buddhism began to crumble as well. I am at a point where I do but do not understand the Buddhism. To me, it just seems like Secular Humanism with a specified moral compass. I just do not seem to get it. Any comments or help would be much appreciated. Thank you.
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Comments
The function of buddhism is to Find composure through suffering and eventually find total release from suffering.
Nothing metaphysical about that. Either life sucks to you or it doesn't. Boredom, dissatisfaction, pain, depair, regret, sadness, etc.
with suicide there is an assumption that there is a subject that is suffering. also with an assumption that something can turn into nothing (nihilism).
where is this subject? is it in the body or mind? or combination of both?
this metaphysical entity that is asserted is no where to be found. if it is no where to be found then who is it that suffers? also where is suffering? where does it go to and where does it come from?
the release from suffering is constantly occurring. the buddha is offering and asking us to notice it and to find the cause/effect relation, thus taking the whole process into our hands.
i don't think death is a release from suffering. i don't think it is that easy to end becoming. suffering is a product of making the impersonal process into a personal process.
buddhism offers a path to transform the mind so that it can start to see how reality works. in doing so suffering is reduced and eliminated. this isn't about avoiding anything. its about acknowledging and accepting our circumstance/condition as it is. then trying to find some composure and balance in the middle between samsara and nirvana.
a couple years ago a girl friend broke up with me. it was a serious relationship and it tore my whole world apart. i've never felt such heartbreak and suffering in my whole life. and during the time i thought the suffering would never end.
looking back at such experience is interesting because it was merely a belief in a thought that brought so much suffering. i put my eggs in a basket that ultimately could not sustain.
life is a lot better now. why? because i wanted it to become better.
Death is a release of some sort, but it is painful, unwished-for and limited to those who die.
This makes some people yearn for rebirth and the metaphysical, rather than invest energy in true understanding.
If I were you Bekenze I would try and go deeper into meditation rather than overanalyzing.
But that's Tibetan Buddhism. The Buddha himself, I'm pretty sure, said not to speculate on metaphysical stuff like that. Do the best with what you have right now.
However, in New Age belief, death is a complete release, and you get bliss, usually, like the NDE-ers say. There haven't been any NDE's recorded that have happened as a result of suicide that I know of. So we don't know if suicide makes for misery after death or not. Why are we talking about suicide, anyway? :orange:
Maybe you don't understand Buddhism because it doesn't present you with a clear enough road map, a formula, some God on high telling you what to do at every turn? It does give you a road map, but it leaves a lot up to you. It's about individual responsibility. And it's about learning skills that help you make the right decisions for yourself.
Some of us are going to spend our lives in a "cloud of unknowing". We are at image zero of the Ox-Herding Pictures: we haven't even seen the hoof prints and are not sure they exist at all.
The neo-post-Enlightenment reductionists would have us believe that there is no ox, that we live in a purely mechanical world - save only some initial, unexplainable creative event or equally unexplainable non-beginning. If you are anything like me, who have spent over six decades searching, you remain unsatisfied by their drab and unmysterious world-view.
Much of what is expressed here, in NB, represents a Western view of Buddhism, as those of us who spent time in the East realise. There is no contradiction between the Noble Eightfold Path and a sense that there is a 'mystery' (as the Greeks put it, or a 'sacramentum' in Latin) within the observable empirical.
The problem is that we need a new language, a new vision, a new language. As Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, said:
"Tantum ergo sacramentum
Veneremur cernui
Et antiquum documentum
Novo cedat ritui"
or, as Eliot says:
"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always—
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well"
Don't give us. The search is worth the candle; even the disappointment.
1. Suffering is all pervasive.
2. Suffering has Origins in the mind.
3. The removal of Suffering and its cause of unbound happiness.
4. The way to implement this is via the path of Buddha Dharma.
All of the following links in with the above 4 points.
1. Samsara: This ties in with the first noble truth of suffering, Samsara is the world which we inhabit with all its displeasures and suffering nothing in Samsara gives rise to real happiness only temporary reduction of previous manifest suffering. There are 6 realms of Samsara Human, Animal, Spirit, Hell's, God, Demi-gods. These are manifestations of the effects of our actions committed throughout time we have now be born in this hman existence because of our good fortune.
1a. Karma: This is basically cause and effects of actions and they dictate what we experience in life. Buddha's insight into reality was that we have lived for many countless lives and thus created inumerable causes which give rise to inumerable effects good and bad however the nature of Samsara being that of suffering eventually we will fall out of fortunate rebirth into less fortunate rebirths and likewise in our present life we will experience the impermence of our good fortune and happiness.
2. Delusions: There are at least 84,000 different delusions within our mind these are the cause of our suffering delusions are unskilfull minds that cause us to create actions that cause us to experience Samsara which is a cycle of suffering. Primary delusions that disturb people are Anger, Jelousy, Attachment, Hatred, Malice..etc all these negative mind arise from the root of Samsara which is Ignorance, Specifically Ignorance of self grasping which percieves phenomena incorrectly and in dependence upon this Samsara arises as a result, Delusions such as anger and so forth arise on the basis of Self grasping but actually come from self graspings child-mind self cherishing it is through cherishing oneself we develop all negative qualities.
2a. Acting upon Delusions: Because our mind is uncontrolled we follow it whatever we do we are like a slave to our mind presented with no choice but to get angry if it says so become jelous if it so wishes and engage in general child like behaviour at its whim. While the mind is uncontrolled we will create actions that cause suffering so therefore it is important to practice controlling the mind via meditation.
3. Meditation: Meditation is the key to controlling our mind and making ourself more happy by recognising undesirable states of mind such as anger and so forth we gain a mindfulness that allows us to cease such minds arising through continued effort and practice delusions cease arising. We also practice meditation to develop the counterpoints to delusion which are virtues such as love, compassion, wisdom, Bodhichitta and so forth these virtuous minds create the causes for happiness and by acting on these virtuous minds we are sowing the seeds of happiness in this and future lives. By practicing increasing our virtue and ending our negativities we can accomplish complete freedom also known as Enlightenment
3a. Nivarna: Buddha gained special insights through becoming familiar with his mind and by practicing the methods to rid himself of delusion he accomplished Nivarna which is an extremly special highly blissful state free from very gross and subtle deluded minds and as a result Buddha no longer had to experience suffering in his life because the causes for it can no longer arises without the appropriate basis of delusion and the karma generated by delusion. Physcial hardships become nothing when one has a sturdy and controlled mind that dwells in Nivarna it is completly free and nothing can move it from permenent happiness Nivarna is also known as Liberation and lesser Enlightenment it is a very noble goal and easy to accomplish if we put effort into our practice.
3b. Enlightenment: While Nivarna is an extremly special state of mind Enlightenment far surpasses this mind as mentioned earlier Nivarna completly clears the mind of Gross and subtle delusions in the mind and gives one freedom from Samsara however Freedom from Samsara is not nearly enough when one considers how many countless living beings there are throught the 6 realms of existence therefore Buddha developed a special mind which is the prequiste to Full Enlightenment this mind is known as Bodhichitta it is a wish to attain Full enlightenment so one can completely benefit all beings by teaching them the Dharma of the accomplished ones, Bodhichitta is a the supreme result of a great compassionate mind and with this mind one constantly generates an imeasurable amount of good karma which creates the causes for one to experience full enlightenment very quickly and helps fulfill all our wishes. Once one develops Bodhichitta they are known as a Bodhisattva which literally means Son or Daughter of the Buddha's like a Prince is an heir to the kings throne Bodhisattvas are not far away from completing the path of Dharma in its entirety.
Once one becomes enlightened the mind is completely free from the most subtle delusions and the mind eliminates a subtle grasping at self and others (Including other phenomena which is classified as other) the effect of this is that the mind develops complete insight and knowledge into all phenomena the aim of the Bodhisattva by becoming enlightened is that they wish to best know how to help others Because an enlightened being has this omniscient like mind they know the best way to benefit beings still trapped in Samsara. Ontop of the benefits of Nivarna This is the most highest goal one can achieve. The Buddha's have said that the supreme meaning of our human life is to attain Nivarna and Enlightenment.
4. The path: Buddha gave many teachings as a result of his compassionate intention all those he came across greatly benefited and likewise through his blessings and inspirations many masters accomplished the same state and continue to teach other the same methods and methods appropriate to this age today. To name but a few.
Meditations of Insight and mindfulness.
Practice of Morality as a cause of happiness: Namely the 8 fold path and the 6 perfections
Practice of Virtues such as Patience,giving, effort, concentration, Morale discipline, Wisdom.
Meditation upon Death, Impermenence, and the Reunciation of Samsara (These help move the mind toward wanting to help itself by engaging in virtue)
Meditations upon these subjects such as metta meditation which develops love, Compassion meditations, Wishing happiness and so forth. The benefits are self explanitory
Meditation upon the Emptiness of Self and other phenomena, This is the direct cause of Liberation and enlightenment it helps cut away our delusions very quickly.
Lojong meditations which are a special compilation of teachings on developing loving kindness and transforming this mind into Bodhichitta.
Method Lineage meditation upon developing Bodhichitta, This involves meditating gradually upon 7 subjects which cause the mind to generate Bodhichitta spontaniously upon completion.
Wisdom Lineage Meditation upon Developing Bodhichitta, This is very simple its also known as exchanging self with others and is helps develop Bodhichitta swiftly.
The stages of the path , This is a cycle of 21 meditations also mainly known as Lamrim which comprises the entire path of Buddhas Sutra teachings and all of the above.
Tantra, Which is a very skilfull way of practicing teachings that very quickly lead to Enlightenment within one life time not for everyone and includes a wide range of practices that are both beautiful and colourful.
Dzogchen, Said to have the same result as Tantric practice not to sure about it but its training has created some equally great masters as Tantric adepts.
3b. Lineages of Buddhas teachings: Buddha gave 84,000 different methods of Dharma practice to induce happiness, rebirth in the higher God realms, Nivarna and enlightenment in practitoners who follow his teachings. These Include.
Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana
All Buddhist traditions will fall under either these catagories the first deals with attaining Nivarna, The second deals with Progressing through the Bodhisattva stages into attaining Nivarna along the way and eventually accomplishing full Buddhahood, The third deals with accomplishing enlightenment through various inner and outter practices that cut delusion quickly and lead to enlightenment in supposedly one life for very dedicated practioners.
There are a variety of sects and sub sects the problem is finding one which suits you
As you can see there is alot that stems from Buddha profound 4 Noble truths this is what Buddhism is about and I hope it has dispelled some of your confusion.
experience the things that Buddhists tell you you must experience before you can truly grasp.
You've been playing mental games, like trying to understand the microscopic world without a microscope;
many theories and way of thinking about it can be logical and rational, but once one see the microscopic world with his own eyes, it is immediately evident what is right and what was a great idea but just plain wrong..,
you would answer all of your questions by diving into the practice.
Without the serious meditation practice, you can only do one of the three aspect of Buddhism which is morality. (The other two that you cannot do are concentration (samadhi) and insight(vipassana)).
Experience the inner stillness, the jhanas all that stuff.
It will take time but it worth it.
There is no difference between a true believer and a skeptic.
Both true believer and skeptic care far more about developing and advancing their beliefs (or disbeliefs) in the world than they ever care for developing and advancing their powers of observation and awareness in the world.
If you should wish to progress beyond the endless cycle of belief and disbelief
and aimless wandering through different religions and philosophies with nothing to show for it,
you must focus on developing your own powers of observation and awareness.
The truths of the universe depend not upon your personal belief nor disbelief,
both of which can easily and completely blind you to the truth all around you.
Experience is not limited. Find a meditation practice and practice it. That way, when you say, "I understand," it will no longer be hot air and academics. Experience trumps hope and belief, so ... provide yourself with some experience.
A skeptic. You want to be skeptical about Buddhism? Then read who I always recommend for Buddhist skeptics-Stephen Batchelor. The skeptic's/atheist's Buddhist.
Nice, short, food for thought good read.
the philosophy come from the direct observation of phenomenons, just like all philosophy and sciences.
But unlike physics, chemistry, standard philosophy where you can observe the phenomenons directly and indirectly with experiments and specific tools, in Buddhism the objects we observe are things that cannot be seen with a telescope or a microscope...
The things we observe are consciousness, emotions, sensations...
But, it require a great deal of practice before we can even see many of those things.
for example, a normal person who doesn't meditate only can see and feel the grossest emotions and sensations in the body, which represent only a very small % of all the sensations and reactions that are present all the time, and would never even imagine all of the extremely subtle sensations and emotions that are there. with practice, we get access to layers and layers of experience that are not available to most but essential to understand our true nature and the nature of reality...
>But, it require a great deal of practice before we can even see many of those things.
but, this is not very different from any other science.
Before you can understand physic for example, you need to study many years.
same with chemistry...
It is my belief that all philosophy would come to very similar conclusions (same as Buddhist) were they to observe and base their philosophy on the things that can be observed in mature meditation.
If Psychology and psychologists would have the tools and developed the skills to observe the same things it would be very similar to buddhism as well.