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thenovicemonk41
Explorer
Hey, everyone.
My name is novicemonk41. I have been a Buddhist for many years and a regular at Buddhist monasteries. Typically, in the Thai and Tibetan tradition. If you have questions, please comment and I'll answer them for you.
My name is novicemonk41. I have been a Buddhist for many years and a regular at Buddhist monasteries. Typically, in the Thai and Tibetan tradition. If you have questions, please comment and I'll answer them for you.
6
Comments
Thank you so much for your generous offer, @thenovicemonk41 . I'm sure that if you have any questions for us, we'll be very glad to answer them for you, too.
Welcome. Hopefully we'll all find something mutually useful here....
Could you tell us what practice you're currently doing?
Hey
Welcome
To the OP what lineage?
Great! Did you see my post from a few days ago about Lama Zopa Rinpoche and how to go about utilising the Namgyalma?
Here it is: I've been reading and listening to the teachings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. His teachings on compassion towards all things are particularly accessible to me, and resonate deeply. I have heard several interviews with him in which he states that the Namgyalma Mantra is anextremely powerful purification mantra, and brings much relief to all sentient beings. I am interested to hear if anyone uses the mantra in a regular basis, and the best way to incorporate it into a fairly elementary practice! Many thanks in advance, J
@Chrisv23c -- Welcome. I hope you find something useful here.
If your question means "is there some infallible and holy book", then the answer is no, there is no bible.
Below is something I wrote a long time ago -- a cheat sheet for a young Christian woman who came to visit as a means of learning some 'tolerance.' I never did find out if she could tolerate me:
........................................................BUDDHISM
The truth of Buddhism does not come from a book. It does not come from a temple. It does not come from someone else. It is not written on a piece of paper. The truth of Buddhism comes from the individual effort to investigate, verify and actualize a clear understanding of this life.
Shakyamuni Buddha, the man most often referred to as the founder of Buddhism, was born on the border of India and Nepal in about 565 BC. He attained what is sometimes called enlightenment at 35 and preached until his death at 80. Many schools of Buddhism sprang from his teachings … in India, Tibet, China, Korea and Japan among others. Uncertain estimates put Buddhist numbers at about 350 million worldwide.
All Buddhist schools agree on at least two things:
The Four Noble Truths are:
*** 1. There is suffering (dukkha – the uncertainties, dissatisfactions and doubts that life can dish up); 2. There is a cause of suffering; 3. There is an end to suffering; 4. There is a way to end suffering.
The Eightfold Path is:
*** 1. Right View 2. Right Intention 3. Right Speech 4. Right Action 5. Right Livelihood 6. Right Effort 7. Right Mindfulness 8. Right Concentration.
The word "right" is sometimes translated as "complete." A “complete” effort is thorough-going and whole-hearted. Nothing is held back. Buddhism is not a threat-based persuasion: You won’t go to heaven (right) if you practice it and you won’t go to hell (wrong) if you don’t. But honesty is required -- complete honesty.
The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path carry with them the verifiable observation that everything in life changes. There is nothing that does not change. Joy turns to sorrow, love turns to anger, birth turns to death, and the family car always gets a flat. All Buddhist schools agree on such things, but how they approach them may vary.
But as the Dalai Lama put it once, "Everyone wants to be happy." And that is probably as good a summary of Buddhism as any.
@genkaku -- Would you mind if I shared your basic Buddhism outline elsewhere? That's really good.
@silver -- Feel free ... and stop being so polite
I figure anyone dumb enough to put anything on the Internet is issuing an open invitation.
Alright already!
Good point.
It remains the most popular Buddhist book, though it is not representative of all the Schools and can in no way be called a bible.
You can also google "The sutta in 42 sections." It is a Mahayana sutta, which is in fact a compilation of the teachings the first Indian teachers brought to China and Japan and considered the core of the Buddhadharma.
Warm water?! Sheer luxury!
We were lucky, we were allowed a quick wipe down with an oily rag. Without the oil - or the rag.
For those unaware of Monty Python Dharma
It is considered very negative karma to teach, unless YOUR teacher has assigned you the task of teaching.
It is one thing to answer questions, but another thing to put yourself out there and ask others to come to you with questions .. is very egotistical and and against everything yo you are trying to do as a Buddhist.
Besides .. Buddhism is experiential in nature .. not intellectual and not understood with words.
By the very virtue of what you say in your post, you have succumbed to the very problem you caution against.
Your post smacks of Holier-Than-Thou patronising egoism.
Right Speech not only consists of verbal content. It also includes manners.
Manners?
When I was growing up manners was just some social affliction fancy folks strutted out to put others in there place.
Hmph. At least you had social afflictions . . .
You had a teacher? You were lucky! The most we had was a posting from an unverified source if we were lucky!
In YinYana Buddhism even the founder was not allowed to teach. This resulted in nobody learning anything. The results speak for themself ... For example this ideally should not exist ...
http://yinyana.tumblr.com/day/2013/06/10
You had unverified sources?! Sheer luxury, we never had sources, not even ketchup.
Please ☺
Start by saying that.
That particular rule has more to do with guarding the authority of the temple monks in a rigid hierarchy than any Precept. It's why, in the end, I refused to enter the path to getting Inka authority (official license to open my mouth in a temple) and went my own way. Not because I wanted to flap my lips, but because I refused to tell others to shut up and it drove me crazy the way none of the monks in the temple thought anyone had anything valid to say. Everyone has something to teach us, and that rigid adherence to the Eastern classroom discipline of "the student shuts up and listens to the teacher and don't you dare contradict the teacher!" is nothing but cultural baggage.
I do make sure to tell people I have no Inka authority and am only giving my own layperson's opinion and understanding, for what it's worth. But I enjoy listening and reading other people's thoughts even more.