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What it means to be Buddhist?

TheFoundTheFound
edited June 2012 in Buddhism Basics
So I started digesting Shobogenzo, Dogens collection of essays,.. Also I have commentaries on them..
I think I get it a little bit now... we live in the relative and absolute worlds.. and what it means to be Buddhist is to use or practice in the relative world to help cut away delusions and then let go of both buddhism and the relative world... and join the absolute.. but to still function as an avatar of the universe we should stay in samsara like bodhisatvas,and also not be attached to either the absolute and the relative..that's the middle way..
is this enough though?

Comments

  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    That sounds reasonable to me. Cutting away delusions isn't easy though because we gain such immense comfort from having our delusion. Even though in the long road we feel better if we cut them. (just guessing here)
  • genkakugenkaku Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
    What it means to be a Buddhist gains more traction as the insistence on 'meaning' dwindles.
  • howhow Veteran Veteran
    edited June 2012
    Having a wider heart today, than you had yesterday.
  • PrairieGhostPrairieGhost Veteran
    Basically, as I see it, your O.P. is pretty much bang on. And what the others said.
  • hermitwinhermitwin Veteran
    why restrict yourself to only these.
    there is still theravada and tibetan to explore.
    So I started digesting Shobogenzo, Dogens collection of essays,.. Also I have commentaries on them..
    I think I get it a little bit now... we live in the relative and absolute worlds.. and what it means to be Buddhist is to use or practice in the relative world to help cut away delusions and then let go of both buddhism and the relative world... and join the absolute.. but to still function as an avatar of the universe we should stay in samsara like bodhisatvas,and also not be attached to either the absolute and the relative..that's the middle way..
    is this enough though?
  • ToshTosh Veteran

    I think I get it a little bit now... we live in the relative and absolute worlds.. and what it means to be Buddhist is to use or practice in the relative world to help cut away delusions and then let go of both buddhism and the relative world... and join the absolute.. but to still function as an avatar of the universe we should stay in samsara like bodhisatvas,and also not be attached to either the absolute and the relative..that's the middle way..
    is this enough though?
    Sounds about right, even from a Tibetan Buddhists point of view. However, it may sound simple, but it is not easy. Why? Because we are (or at least I am) attached to the relative.

    In practise, I think it means living an ethical life, being kind to others, and developing wisdom.

  • taiyakitaiyaki Veteran
    The whole point is to directly see that absolute is relative.

    Which leads to an open heart. Such a heart can hold suffering and joy of self and others. But it does not grasp. Thus everything is felt fully in total intimacy. Thus a bodhisattva neither dwells in samsara and nirvana but is totally immersed in the shit and joy.

    We do not let go. Everything is already in the process of letting go.

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