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Do you see the Buddha as your friend?

kashikashi
edited April 2012 in General Banter
Though the Buddha is no longer with us technically, do you consider him a friend?

I do.

we have his teachings and through them we can know him not only as an enlightened being, and teacher, but as a friend as well. There are also lots of good books about his life and most of us know some basic things about the man he was.

I take refuge in the Buddha.

Comments

  • ZeroZero Veteran
    Personally, no...
  • ZaylZayl Veteran
    Not really. I woulda loved to chill with the dude though. I don't even see him as a teacher. Just someone that pointed in a direction then left it up to me what to do.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    Actually, yes, i do.
    What's more, i see him popping up everywhere, in all manner of situations.....

    i don't feel the need to kill him, though....
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    I had a strong religious devotion to the Buddha, but it fell away as a grounding in practice took hold. Now devotional sentiment isn't really a factor, but there is an appreciation and a gratitude for the historical Buddha... and all the people who kept the stream of teachings and practice going..
  • zenffzenff Veteran
    Tomorrow I will go out and eat asparagus with some people. I think of them as friends.
    Taking refuge in the Buddha is a nice one to contemplate. Maybe in another tread.

  • seeker242seeker242 Zen Florida, USA Veteran
    Yes.
  • genkakugenkaku Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
    Friends -- real friends, not Facebook friends -- are kind of interesting. You may think to call them friends, but in their presence you never think to mention it... you're too busy just being friends.

    Being friends with a dead person strikes me as a bit of a stretch. The dead are always friendly ... they never talk back. Friends -- real friends, not Facebook friends -- talk back all the time.
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    Dead friends are hand puppets.
  • kashikashi
    wow
  • seeker242seeker242 Zen Florida, USA Veteran
    All beings, past present and future, should be considered friends. :)
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    All beings, past present and future, should be considered friends. :)
    Well gosh..... can't quibble with that. :o

  • GuiGui Veteran
    Question for OP: If the Buddha is your friend, doesn't that make him a god?
  • vinlynvinlyn Colorado...for now Veteran
    Question for OP: If the Buddha is your friend, doesn't that make him a god?
    While I don't see Buddha as a "friend", there's no comparison at all between a friend and a god.

  • genkakugenkaku Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
    All beings, past present and future, should be considered friends. :)
    Any time I hear or read the word "should," I try to pay attention ... attention to both what is being said and to the fact that the word "should" sends up some serious red flags.

  • kashikashi
    lol
  • kashikashi
    All beings, past present and future, should be considered friends. :)
    be careful now...some people are frightened
  • genkakugenkaku Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
    All beings, past present and future, should be considered friends. :)
    be careful now...some people are frightened
    Yes, that's the way it is with what is obvious.

  • ToshTosh Veteran
    edited April 2012
    Some beliefs are useful even if they aren't true, and seeing the Buddha as a friend or as some sort of Spiritual helper can be a raft; a spiritual tool, to help you from A to B.

    I 'pretend' all kinds of stuff. I believe that I'm disciplined, when I'm not. I believe I can do stuff that I normally can't. I believe my fifteen year old daughter is a Buddha in disguise and out to teach me patience and tolerance. I even ask the Buddha to help me settle down when I meditate, or to help me get my ass on the 'cushion' in the first place. It works.

    As far as I know truth is always positive, never negative; so if a belief adds something positive, so what?

    So, yeh, the Buddha is my friend. ;-)
  • Lady_AlisonLady_Alison Veteran
    I only see him as a spiritual teacher... one of the most important, and also the people who kept his teachings alive...but not a friend..

    define, friend?
  • kashikashi
    open to personal definition....
    not psychiatric evaluation.

  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    The Tibetan word for prayer does not have a subject or object like the western word. Like Federica says you just open to the wonder.

    I read a Buddhist teacher say that if people just regarded everything as the Buddha and everything a wonder... he said if they thought their shampoo in the morning was a gift from Buddha... that would be dharma. But people are too complicated and so the quest for happiness is used as a practice instead.

  • seeker242seeker242 Zen Florida, USA Veteran
    edited April 2012
    May all beings be joyous and safe!
    Let every creature's mind rejoice.
    Let every being's mind be exultantly jubilant!
    Let no one ever kill or another one undo,
    Nor ever harm anyone anywhere at all...
    Let no one wish for another any even minor evil,
    neither from provocation, nor from revenge.
    Thus, as a mother with her own life
    Might guard her son, her only baby child, thus
    he should maintain an infinite friendliness.
    I see the word should in there! I also see the word infinite! :)

    infinite [in-fuh-nit] adjective
    1. immeasurably great: an infinite capacity for forgiveness.
    2. indefinitely or exceedingly great: infinite sums of money.
    3. unlimited or unmeasurable in extent of space, duration of time, etc.:
    The Blessed Buddha once said:
    If, Bhikkhus and friends, evil robbers should cut off your limbs with a
    double-handled saw, whoever gives way to anger would not be acting
    on my advice. For thus should you train yourselves: Unperturbed shall
    our minds remain, no evil words shall escape our lips, friendly and full
    of sympathy shall we remain, with heart full of goodwill, without any
    hidden ill will, will we pervade all beings with only friendly thoughts,
    intense, vast, deep, infinite, freed from all hate, anger and irritation!
    MN 21
    There goes another should! It's fun to joke about but it actually quite serious business! Metta isn't called a divine abode for no reason! hehe. :)
  • kashikashi
    seeker thank you for that response...it further shows why i take refuge in the buddha AND consider him a friend.

    Namaste
  • humilityhumility New
    I just think of him as a generous teacher for whom I have great respect.
  • DavidDavid A human residing in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Ancestral territory of the Erie, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Mississauga and Neutral First Nations Veteran
    Actually, yes, i do.
    What's more, i see him popping up everywhere, in all manner of situations.....

    i don't feel the need to kill him, though....
    Hear, hear! I feel some take that too literally (kill the Buddha on the road)... Some would kill the Buddha in all of us to make theirs shine bright.

    I see the Buddha as a friend and a guide. What's more than that is I see him as a brother and kin.

    What's more than that is I see him as a part of me... But that's nothing special because I feel the same about all of you.

  • lamaramadingdonglamaramadingdong Veteran
    I do. And I see my friends as Buddhas (or at least having Buddha nature to some extent).
  • AlexCAlexC
    I see him as my mentor or teacher :)
  • ArthurbodhiArthurbodhi Mars Veteran
    I see the Buddha like a great person, a teacher, to deserve all my respect, and a example to follow.
    I think a similar thing to Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, and other great people out there.
    Not in a religious way, but I feel a special connection to the Buddha and his teaching.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    Oh yeah....!
    You know when you were at school, and you can remember all your teachers, but there is perhaps one who really stands out as someone who was extremely influential, someone whose instruction left you wanting more, and for whom you had nothing but admiration...?
    someone who was born to the job, and absolutely touched your life by their example....?
    Yup.
    That would be a fine definition of "our Sid".....
  • andyrobynandyrobyn Veteran
    All beings, past present and future, should be considered friends. :)
    Yes sir !!! lol
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