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Some questions on Buddhism.
Hello everyone. I'm 17, male, from England, and am having a bit of a minor "spiritual crisis" as it were.
I feel like I need morals. At my age, at a high-school, it may come as no surprise to you that I see many amoral people and actions. It's nothing of extreme gravity objectively; it's not murder, not even assault often, but it still irks me. It's just the way my peers, and I, conduct ourselves.
Preying on other people so that we may be deemed more popular; slander, for example. Disrespect. Just egocentric hedonism. I do try to separate myself from it, but it's just too hard as I still value how my friends view me.
The thing which I feel separates me from them is that this bothers me but seemingly not them; I say "seemingly", but it is more substantiated than that - I've asked my friends before about it, and they just shrug and point out to me that "it's the way it goes". I hate how much holier-than-thou this sounds; I don't deem myself any better than others my age, just somewhat different.
It's not even so much a moral deficiency, if you will, because it'd be wrong to say that my friends and peers are devoid of morals. They're all good people at heart. I just can't buy into their way of living - this is epitomised by materialism, and their pursuits of money. I understand that money is a necessity if we are to live in this society, but it is a dominant force in most people's lives - and I don't think this is the way it should be. If they want to live their life in financial pursuit, then they have every right to. It just doesn't appeal to me. This has caused great problems at school, where I just lack the drive to work, because in my mind I'm working to get a good job, and all the good job leads to is social prestige and material wealth, neither of which appeal to me. This, coupled with teenage indolence, is rather detrimental to my education. That said, I do enjoy educating myself at home, reading informative books etc.
Anyway, why am I posting this here? Well, Buddhism has always sounded appealing to me. When my friends laughed during Religious Studies lessons several years back at the idea of following the doctrines of the aesthetically humourous Buddha, I may have laughed also, but inside I was intrigued. Back then, however, I was not worried about life. Now is different though, and so I reread what I had learned about Buddhism.
The ideals, the objectives, everything sounded wholly appealing to me. I instantly wanted to immerse myself in this new way of life. It has not been possible for me though, because I do not believe in an afterlife, or in karma, or in some other of the more abstract ideas. I only believe in a way of living in which all human relationships, including the humanity-nature relationship, are symbiotic. All I want to do is to be, to use a cliché, the "best" person I can be.
This topic lacks a direct focus, but I suppose it has a few purposes. It's an introduction; it is my asking you how do you feel on the idea of following Buddhism without belief in the more trascendent aspects; it is an emotional venting; above all, it is merely my seeking advice.
I would also like to understand more about meditation. It is something I have tried before, to generally good effect, although I'm not entirely sure I'm "doing it right", and the internet offers such conflicting reports on how to "do it right". Whilst I don't believe in a tangible spirit or soul and do believe everything is biologically answerable, I still feel one can get in touch with one's mind. This is why meditation interests me; if I'm being honest, I have also had great introspective success with psychoactive substances, but I am under the impression these are generally prohibited by Buddhism and would leave them behind if needs be.
I'm not expecting to leave here a converted Buddhist; I am just hoping that someone here, wiser than I, can help me. Sorry for the unstructured post; registering here was quite arbitrary.
I feel like I need morals. At my age, at a high-school, it may come as no surprise to you that I see many amoral people and actions. It's nothing of extreme gravity objectively; it's not murder, not even assault often, but it still irks me. It's just the way my peers, and I, conduct ourselves.
Preying on other people so that we may be deemed more popular; slander, for example. Disrespect. Just egocentric hedonism. I do try to separate myself from it, but it's just too hard as I still value how my friends view me.
The thing which I feel separates me from them is that this bothers me but seemingly not them; I say "seemingly", but it is more substantiated than that - I've asked my friends before about it, and they just shrug and point out to me that "it's the way it goes". I hate how much holier-than-thou this sounds; I don't deem myself any better than others my age, just somewhat different.
It's not even so much a moral deficiency, if you will, because it'd be wrong to say that my friends and peers are devoid of morals. They're all good people at heart. I just can't buy into their way of living - this is epitomised by materialism, and their pursuits of money. I understand that money is a necessity if we are to live in this society, but it is a dominant force in most people's lives - and I don't think this is the way it should be. If they want to live their life in financial pursuit, then they have every right to. It just doesn't appeal to me. This has caused great problems at school, where I just lack the drive to work, because in my mind I'm working to get a good job, and all the good job leads to is social prestige and material wealth, neither of which appeal to me. This, coupled with teenage indolence, is rather detrimental to my education. That said, I do enjoy educating myself at home, reading informative books etc.
Anyway, why am I posting this here? Well, Buddhism has always sounded appealing to me. When my friends laughed during Religious Studies lessons several years back at the idea of following the doctrines of the aesthetically humourous Buddha, I may have laughed also, but inside I was intrigued. Back then, however, I was not worried about life. Now is different though, and so I reread what I had learned about Buddhism.
The ideals, the objectives, everything sounded wholly appealing to me. I instantly wanted to immerse myself in this new way of life. It has not been possible for me though, because I do not believe in an afterlife, or in karma, or in some other of the more abstract ideas. I only believe in a way of living in which all human relationships, including the humanity-nature relationship, are symbiotic. All I want to do is to be, to use a cliché, the "best" person I can be.
This topic lacks a direct focus, but I suppose it has a few purposes. It's an introduction; it is my asking you how do you feel on the idea of following Buddhism without belief in the more trascendent aspects; it is an emotional venting; above all, it is merely my seeking advice.
I would also like to understand more about meditation. It is something I have tried before, to generally good effect, although I'm not entirely sure I'm "doing it right", and the internet offers such conflicting reports on how to "do it right". Whilst I don't believe in a tangible spirit or soul and do believe everything is biologically answerable, I still feel one can get in touch with one's mind. This is why meditation interests me; if I'm being honest, I have also had great introspective success with psychoactive substances, but I am under the impression these are generally prohibited by Buddhism and would leave them behind if needs be.
I'm not expecting to leave here a converted Buddhist; I am just hoping that someone here, wiser than I, can help me. Sorry for the unstructured post; registering here was quite arbitrary.
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Comments
It is good to be interested in "being the best you can be," though perhaps this is different for each of us. For some buddhist, believing in reincarnation/ rebirth and karma is something that makes sense, and maybe even will play into their current actions. But as the buddha roughly said, don't believe in anything that anyone says, not even him, unless it agrees with your own opinions.
Right what other questions were in that?
Welcome to the forum, nobody will try to convert you. Buddhism is your path.
Namaste,
Ashley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csyCrcpDs58
it's good
One thing you should know is that Buddhism doesn't demand or require you to give up or begin doing anything. As now Now-Is-Reality said, a very important thing to know is that the Buddha taught that you shouldn't believe anything that people have told you without trying it and finding it for yourself.
Anyone can correct me if I'm wrong, since I am actually very new to Buddhism myself, but I do believe that the Buddha's teachings had nothing regarding the afterlife or the lack thereof. Reincarnation is very popular in Eastern culture, which is where Buddhism originated, so many people who follow the Buddha's teachings also believe in reincarnation simply because it is part of their traditions.
Furthermore, if you wish to continue using psychoactive substances for introspection, then I say do so, as long as that's what makes you happy. Because that's really the point of the Buddha's teachings; achieving true inner happiness. However, the Buddha did feel that all thoughts created by mind altering substances are illusionary, thus they will not further ones path to enlightenment, and in many cases, only cause more suffering. So as far as that is concerned, be wary, and ask yourself if that really makes you happy.
I hope I was able to help in some way with my very limited understanding, but I can assure you that following the Buddhist path is in fact slowly giving me a better understanding of self, and is guiding me to a state of happiness.
i have only checked out that site a few times, but it appears to be a decent magazine and i am sure there are plenty of relevant things on there for you to check out.
as for advice remember, never let yourself give in to hate, always try to direct yourself towards love, for love is at the heart of buddhism, and even if you have to vent anger and hatred, remember that you are only venting it to get rid of it and don't truly mean it.
don't take my exact word for it because i am relatively young and only so experienced a buddhist, but there are two main facets of existence, nirvana and samsara. nirvana is the good side, that which all buddhists aim for in one way or another, and samsara is the bad side, that which is fueled by ignorance, greed and hatred (the three poisons), which entraps countless people and living creatures and is the primary thing a buddhist wishes to conquer. in mahayana buddhism the ideal buddhist is a bodhisattva, who vows to remain in the cycle of birth and death (samsara) (and you can either take the birth-death-rebirth cycle as a mental and metaphorical phenomenon, or as a literal process [which is not so foreign or contrary to science]) for the sake of other beings, out of absolute love and compassion. so this means that according to mahayana, the whole purpose of life is to dedicate yourself to every single being's enlightenment, and more specificalllllllly to wedge them out of the samsaric mode of life, which is something that haunts your friends, because in so many ways money and material objects as pursuits in themselves will lead to very little, and ultimately will only contribute to suffering. sitting meditation is one of the bodhisattva's greatest practices and tools, but it is not the only one. it is usually practiced by sitting down in the half or full lotus position, and monitoring the in and out breath, and simply trying to be aware, and never putting your fingers (your mind fingers) anywhere superfluously, letting the mind sort of unravel itself. there are many ways to go about sitting meditation, so this is just a general basic overview. but remember, the most important thing to do is love! look for love everywhere, but primarily in yourself, for it can't come from anywhere else, everything is mediated by mind. if you cannot love, find it stressful trying to do so, always go back to zazen (sitting meditation) and calm yourself down. but once you've calmed, focus your energies again on the liberation of all beings, it is the only way for the liberation of yourself.
Well since you said I could correct you...
No, I am kidding. Just to go off of what you were saying about reincarnation, I would have to argue that the buddha did teach of the six realms of existance. That is hungry ghost, hell realm, animal, human, jealous god, then gods. Yet, all of these can be interpreted as states of mind rather than literal rebirth. The nature of the teachings and their implications are, of course, at your discression. Each of these realms are categorized respectivly with: desire and jealously, anger, fear and stupitiy, doubt and passion, jealousy and doubt, and bliss that becomes doubt as well as feeling of being "higher". I am sure that you have expirienced each of these states of mind.
Welcome.
When we are teenagers, everyone is basically our friend. But when when we become young adults, teenage friends generally go their separate ways, according to their mental dispositions.
In Buddhism, views about rebirth & afterlife are not actually regarded as "transcendent". They are regard as mundane. To have the view of impermanence is regarded as "transcendent" because it leads to greater acceptance & spiritual freedom.
Core Buddhism suits very well those who do not believe in an afterlife.
It is best to leave them behind. Any benefits are generally short term and any harm & damage is generally long term.
In Buddhism, meditation is applying awareness, mindfulness & wisdom to what is naturally there, where as psychoactive substances is artificially expanding certain potentials of the mind and suppressive negative aspects. As such, it leads to little that is tangible, lasting & enduring.
Kind regards
DDhatu :smilec:
Who are, in my opinion, going to be far more persuasive and successful at answering your questions than an old fogey like me.... But the gist throughout is the same, isn't it?
Feel free to ask anything you want. we'll try to impart the general opinion from a Buddhist perspective, plus (where we can) any specific reference of teaching from Buddhist texts. But ultimately, the bottom line is that you have to come to conclusions regarding you, for yourself.
Nobody's going to try to crowbar you into accepting or believing anything, and neither are we going to give you Wrong or Right answers on what is wrong or right.
You're expected to come to these conclusions through your own investigation, logic, reasoning and cogitation.
Nice to have you with us.
Wipe your feet and tidy your room.
I too feel in the exact same position as yourself, feeling different from my peers and although i too dont think they are at all immoral yet i often do not understand the choices they make or the way the live sometimes in their relationships, addictions etc. So i started from a similar point.
Just my two cents here but in my opinion meditation is one of the hardest activities you can undertake to begin with, yet with persistence it can be the most rewarding and pleasurable thing to do
Other than that just try different things that you read and see what works for you
Oh and listen to the old fogeys like Federica because they give some excellent advice
Pietro Pumokin, I find that your words resonate with me. Love is the one thing I aspire to display, it can just be so hard; I don't want to be outcast, I have my friends, and if one of them starts talking to me about the foibles of another of my peers, there is a great conflict inside of me between indulging my social desires and doing what is morally "correct". It's a bit like whether or not I should remain true to myself or impart some of my character, my burdens almost, onto another - if I do the former, the journey is harder but ultimately I'll have little cause for worry and be entirely lucid. The latter, and the journey is easier but I'll still be plagued with these issues regarding morality. I'm tired and maybe that's a little cryptic and not too well explained, but it sums how I view it all. I think maybe the best route is to read more into Buddhism, into the different subsets of it, and slowly integrate the aspects that appeal to me into my life. Maybe I'll be a strict adherent to a branch of Buddhism, maybe I won't; either way, I'll be a better person.
Dhamma Dhatu, I must stress that the substances I have used have certainly not suppressed the negative aspects of life. I use ones with a history of entheogenic quality, and sometimes the experiences have been rather negative - but I've always learned something, and they have certainly helped me be a "better person". They helped me realise just what I disliked about my surrounding culture, and by extension led me to look to Buddhism. In that sense, they surely can't be bad - perhaps they are just a stepping stone and now is the time to leave them behind, that I still have to ponder, but I'm quite sure they haven't deluded me... although I suppose that's a bit paradoxical. :P I shall be sure to look into Core Buddhism though, and also any other subsets which tend not to associate themselves with the more... well, I can't find the adjective because, as you stated, it's all relative, but what to me seems more "abstract". The less tangible aspects, perhaps.
And Jackus, just to clarify, I don't regard my friends as "immoral", as they have no ill-intent. I wouldn't associate myself with them if I did. I just think sometimes they are misguided, and oftentimes are amoral - I currently exhibit amorality daily, but that is the exact thing I want to change. Whilst morals are subjective, as Pietro Pumokin details, if it's acting out of love, then it's morally "good" in my eyes. Sometimes, I do things not out of love, but out of egocentricity.
But thank you all, none of your words have gone dismissed. This is certainly a nice community, and as federica prompts, I'll be sure to ask questions wherever I feel lost.
EDIT: Oh yes, and I also realise I've been approaching meditation somewhat incorrectly, or at least differently. I got to a point where clearing my mind of all thoughts produced this intense electrical feeling in my body, and it was quite startling. After the first time I experienced it, I strived to attain it whenever I meditated, and got it most times. Afterwards, I did feel more calm though. This was spurred by my reading of meditation, where some people referred to it as a very "intense" experience - I think I was just reading the wrong places, though. My meditation would never last more than ten minutes, and my eyes would be constantly closed. I shall henceforth try staring at a wall, eyes open, whilst having the fundaments of the Buddhist views on meditation in mind (or out of mind) whilst striving for nothing, really. Just sitting with an entirely clear mind.
Im my honest opinion acting out of love is the most good you can do in your daily life so this is important to me.
The choice to ingeast things that may or may not do this is up to each of us, cuz it's our suffering, our causes, our end of suffering, and our path.
I do imagine the recommendation is more focused on stuff that really screws up or cognition, like drugs and alcohol, to begin with. Working on eliminating more subtle stuff comes later.
Kamma/Karma seems disastrously misunderstood by Western audiences.
Rebirth is not quite what we think of it as, either.
I'm 20. I've had experience with these types of drugs and yes they led me to my spiritual crisis and eventually Buddhism. What did I learn? There are no absolutes. The experience is temporary. It's a waste of money. They are a tool to start your mindfulness practice. Alan Watts once said -- "Once you get the message, hang up the phone.." I suggest laying off the "drugs".. and I hope you weren't seriously asking what the difference between Green Tea and Magic Mushrooms were.. lol
Buddha knew that when the false self in your mind is controlling you, using these substances will not turn out well. Trust me on this from experience. Even after becoming "aware".. the little bugger in my head keeps saying .. HEY IF YOU'RE AWARE WHY DON'T YOU SMOKE WEED, TRIP ON LSD.. IT WON'T AFFECT YOU RIGHT COME ON BUDDY COME ON.. So I did, and the little bugger ambushed me. Lots of monkey mind attacks. You see, if you let your mind control you it's going to gain an addiction and taunt you and tempt you. Just observe the thoughts and emotions. Using meditation is a great technique because the little bugger will pop thoughts into your head but if you do slip and start going into it's reverie you won't be intoxicated. And the ego's tricks + intoxication (especially with LSD or Weed).. can lead one to suicidal attempts if they keep going down the deep deep deep deep rabbit hole of the word-filled mind that doesn't even exist.
If you observe your thoughts and emotions you'll see this loop. Drags you in and out and in and out. Buddha knew this, he wanted to keep his students safe. The ego has all the tricks my friend. Simply observe.
From one lost soul to another, I hope this helps. PM me if you need more help, because I know that being a young person who's taken psychoactive drugs can be dangerous and even deadly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csyCrcpDs58
This will help you. It's all in the mind.