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Superstition and Buddhism...Are you superstitious ?
Shoshin
No one in particularNowhere Special Veteran
Kia Ora,
Are you superstitious ?
Are some schools/sects of Buddhism steeped in superstition ? (Bewitched by it)
What did the Buddha have to say about superstition ?
From what I gather the Buddha rejected all form of superstition, but I could be wrong....
So, fingers crossed, touch wood...hopefully there will be some form of consensus on this....
Metta Shoshin . 
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Comments
Slightly superstitious.
Theravada Buddhism is Thailand is steeped in animism, and as a result there is a great deal of superstition. Almost every house or significant building in Thailand has a spirit house where the spirits of the land on which the building sits may live. Tales of ghosts in many Buddhist temples are common...particularly cave temples.
If I even think superstitious thoughts I have to circumambulate my house three times, or the aliens will remember they implanted that mind control device in my wrist (haha wrist, like I'm stupid, no it's connected to the nerves going to my brain). So no, not superstitious.
No I'm not superstitious, but who are you asking?
Folk beliefs and superstitions have invaded Buddhism in various parts of Asia, and made their home there. It was inevitable.
Of course but buddhism isn't about folklore and beliefs is it? Its really about self-exploration of the mind or am I being a bit stupid?
It's easier for Westerners to see the "foreign" elements in the different Buddhist traditions, and stick to the basic teachings. The line between what's Buddhist and what's local folk or shamanic tradition blurred so long ago, Asians don't see it.
Besides, in some parts of Asia the rationale when Buddhism was spreading into Inner Asia, was that integrating local non-Buddhist practices into the Dharma, though inauthentic to Buddhism, was permissible for the greater good of spreading the Dharma. Teaching an adulterated version of the Dharma was seen as better than no Dharma at all. Whatever it took to gain converts was justifiable. The Buddha may have disagreed if he'd been alive at the time, but he was long gone.
No
He [buddha] may have been long gone but I doubt he was superstitious @Dakini. We all can verify the reality of our normal conscious experience and compare it with our personal belief systems. I am not afraid of ghosts - because they don't exist in my world! Similarly there are no witches, fairy godmothers alien invaders etc. but all have a small probability of existing, so can't be ruled out!.... But that small possibility pretty much rules them out of my world.
I prefer the term magical thinking. I see it mixed into every religious culture.
Yes.
I believe creationism is child abuse but believe reincarnation should be taught as an alternative evolutionary theory. I don't believe in Santa Clause or the tooth fairy but believe in the infallibility of Buddha, Boddhisatvahs and the Enlightened. I don't believe in Superman or Batman but my own super powers . . .
Oh wait I don't believe in any of that stuff. I don't even believe in superstition.
Must have some superstitions . . . m m m . . . I know, I believe in Love. Definitely a hopeless case . . .
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KIa Ora,
The superstitious selves and non superstitious selves of the NewBuddhist cyber community...
How does superstition fit in with Dharma practice ?
For example some people think it's 'bad luck' to accidently spill salt, if they do they throw a pinch of salt over their left shoulder, perhaps there's some connection to Job's wife being turned to a pillar of salt when she looked back...
Metta Shoshin .
..
The Buddha was very clear about how he felt about superstition, soothsaying, etc. But he wasn't around to play watchdog. And the Mahayana principle of taking what's perceived as the greater good over sticking to precepts or teachings is what won out. Winning converts was seen as one of the greatest benefits possible for humankind, even if it required bending the rules.
I grow two superstitions to blend in sort of.
Spit when I see a black cat and never leave my keys on the table.
Its fun to walk the edge and see other peoples reactions.
Those are swedish superstitions btw. I am thinking about blending in one from SL...
Sort of echoing what @Dakini said. There are many regional folk beliefs that exist before insert religion here appeared in any given area. To convert people, you sort of compromise and relate their (usually animist) beliefs with your religion's beliefs. The culture and the philosophy mix and mingle to take on their own flavour.
Whether or not it's "authentic" is sort of missing the point, IMO. This is what religion does - it takes on the flavour of the culture it's in. To say that people aren't practicing "properly" is an ethnocentric view. They just aren't practicing the way you would like to practice.
KIa Ora,
Friday the "13" Oooooowwwwww scary . :rarr: ... If some things do go wrong on that day, for the most part it's just a self fulfilling prophecy brought on by believing something will...It's funny how the mind works...
@Invincible_summer I don't think any poster here said anything about others doing things wrong when it comes to Buddhist practices...
In the end, all roads 'eventually' lead to Buddhaville, some might just have to wear out a few more lives than others getting there...
Metta Shoshin .
..
Buddhism practices made me realize the things i found superstitious aren't really superstitious
If you are considered well adjusted and "normal" in a society that is like the one we have today, a society that deems it okay to consume and watch TV while others pepperbomb city's full of civilians I would be concerned. Yes I'm batshit insane and proud of it.
Quite right. Cultures borrow or merge with other cultures. Christianity is full if it. Many of the Christmas traditions observed, come from Pagan traditions - even the day we celebrate it.
Tibetan Buddhism show it's cultural relationship to Bon in a number of ways.
A lot of the more absolute stands western Buddhists often take is a product of Christian culture norms (I think). For example,some Buddhists place the Precepts in a cultural position nearly identical with what Christians do with the 10 Commandments.
My guru teaches that Buddhism is like a glass of pure water. Water is the Dharma. It can take the shape of any vessel you pour it into. The water itself remains unchanged. Dharma remains Dharma.
Depends what you mean by superstition, I guess.
Friday the 13th? Black cats? Ladders? Wearing smelly socks for weeks because they are lucky? No, I don't believe in that stuff.
If you are going to lump in things like psychic abilities, ghosts and other unexplainable experiences, then...kind of. I am skeptical but not unbelieving.
If you believe in birthdays, New Years, your own age etc., than you are also superstitious.
That said, just because you don' t understand something, doesn't mean it is superstitious. Unless you have a complete understanding of it, you shouldn't be drawing conclusion based on your limited knowledge.
I think the problem comes in where it is not possible to have a complete understanding. You have to base your opinion on limited information, and whether you believe those sources are credible, and whether even if they are credible, what they are experiencing is real or just a facet of their mind. I know people, personally, who have experienced things that defy explanation. I can listen to what they say and form an opinion, but I cannot draw a conclusion because there are no provable facts.
I believe in birthdays because they are fun
Kia Ora,
It's all in the mind...."The mind is the root from which all things grow !"
Metta Shoshin .
..
This is a very interesting definition of superstitious. I've never paid any attention to passing birthdays (except as a small child), never celebrated New Year (I really don't understand that one; it's just a new year, so what?), nor kept close track of my age. Could you explain what those have to do with superstition?
We create, or co-create our world from raw material which is largely neutral.
For this reason I am reluctant to judge alternative healing methods or what seems to be superstition..they are no more and no less building blocks in the creation of the world we make then perceive, than cold logic is.
For example a friend of mine was a great believer in the I Ching and would worry if he received negative seeming answers, until he met an I Ching Master who told him that he just needed to change the reading to one he preferred..and believe that..That would become the reality.
So he would then move a line to make a different pictogram.
The future is not fixed..we make it in the present.
the majority of superstition is auto-suggestion....
Exactly..
Well, i didn't want to point fingers but since you forced my hand:
The above quote suggests that any folklore/'additional' beliefs aren't "real" Buddhism and are therefore wrong.
I disagree. It seems to say that folklore and beliefs aren't the concern in Buddhism. It doesn't stipulate they're not real. It's just more papanca getting in the way. Buddhism has more pressing things to focus on....
That's definitely a friendlier interpretation. :P
I suppose when I read the phrase "X isn't about _______" it suggests to me that ______ is unnecessary, incorrect, disposable. Therefore, those who think/act like ______ is indeed part-and-parcel of X are misunderstanding, wrong, etc.
But I'm also cynical and critical.
I believe superstition has a lot to do with self-programming.
If you believe you'll be struck by bad luck because a black cat crosses your path, high chances are you will, because you have unconsciously decided to accept that notion.
Like @Dakini said, the Buddha was against superstition, soothsaying, magic.
"I forbid, you, O bhikshus, to employ any spells or supplications, for they are useless, since the law of karma governs all things," cites Paul Carus in his "The Gospel of the Buddha."
In the same book, the chapter "Guard the six quarters" tells the episode of the Buddha meeting Srigâla, a man who was performing a ceremony to avert evil from his home. Srigâla said to the Tathâgata that he had already heard that he professed that "incantations are of no avail and possess no saving power." To which the Buddha replied, "To guard your home by mysterious ceremonies is not sufficient; you must guard it by good deeds."
In the Jataka, it is said: "While waiting for the proper astrological moment, benefits pass you by. Any time that benefits appear, that is the time to seize the day - what can the stars do?"
Feng shui masters all over Asia profess to be Buddhists and yet won't budge if the day is not considered to be auspicious. Superstition is not inherent to Buddhism, but there are many Buddhists who are superstitious, mostly due to cultural heritage. People in Asia, specially of Chinese origin, tend to be very superstitious. Then again, it's about the people, not the doctrine.
When life started on earth after the Big Bang, there wasn't any names/lebals to identify times. I t was later invented by humans. Time was always there and passing from moment to moment, it just didn't have any labels. Coming up with twelve different labels and pretending that it is real doesn't make it so. Time is passed and never coming back, only labels taking turns and coming back.
Any way, this is how I see it.