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Embrace Buddhist diversity
skydancer
Veteran
I'm finding this forum an interesting place because we have such a variety of Buddhist practitoners represented here.
It also presents a challenge in communicating sometimes, it's as if we come from similar yet differenet cultures with language unique to our school, branch or lineage.
What thoughts do you have about how we can get the most out of each other and minimize potential unnecessary arguments?
It also presents a challenge in communicating sometimes, it's as if we come from similar yet differenet cultures with language unique to our school, branch or lineage.
What thoughts do you have about how we can get the most out of each other and minimize potential unnecessary arguments?
0
Comments
I'm a member of a forum for a particular make and model of car..so basically we all have the same "religion" coming into the forum...however, we all differ in:
1)Life Experience (I'm the old man of the forum
2)Upbringing
3)Culture
4)Values
5)Gender
etc..
So even though we have this one great commonality, arguments erupt almost daily. About all that can be done is to set up fair rules for the forum, and have fair enforcement by Mods/Admins. This can be a bit of a challenge.
So far, this is working pretty well for me. It's a way we can get to know each other in more depth.
Brother Bob is leading by example. He is showing how he lives the dharma. We can all do this, take some time and get out of our heads and egos once and awhile.
Then the forum becomes a true source of refuge for the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
We are a sangha here, it behooves us to remember that in our postings to each other.
When I check my perceptions with others, misunderstandings dissolve and good heart remains. For example, I notice quite a few Zen practitioners here. Zen is not my personal path of training, yet Zen enters my training experience in one way.
I train with Russell Delman in the Embodied Life course. He is a Zen practitioner. He integrates zen meditation into his course.
So I haven't studied zen, but I have sat zazen on occasion.
How has the disturbance of the peace affected your practice? For me it has taught patience and reaffirmed that after I understand someone else's position better I have compassion for them.
What do you mean by, "When I check my perceptions with others?
When you think that 50% of marriages today end in divorce, and these same people were in love at the start of their relationship. It is a wonder that humans can get along at all. : ^ (
Realizing the lay of the land, we certainly can't hope that getting along with each other will come about naturally without any effort on our part. i'm afraid.
One thing I do, and I am certainly not putting myself up as any model of behavior, is to think that if some one is very wrong or even a sob at that moment, that I certainly wouldn't want to be that way too.
In other words if we are Sooo right, that is our own good fortune and we shouldn't hate or be angry with someone less fortunate than ourselves. Instead we might start to think about how we could help this less fortunate person, as best we can. Isn't this what we wish someone would do for us if we had gone astray?
In this way, instead of being angry that someone doesn't agree with us, or give us the respect we want/need, or whatever, we might be able to find out what compassion is all about.
My granny use to say, "You can accomplish more with honey, than you can with vinegar."
Fighting words cause a potential conversation to degenerate into a garbage heap. ; ^ )
However, I do think we should consider this, That a friendly debate is not necessarily the same thing as an argument. It just seems that way often, because so many of us let our emotions and egos run the show.
Kind regards,
S9
The disturbance of the peace is a signal to me that I have shenpa, fixation. It's an enjoinment to wake up to that so that I don't entrench myself further in the mire.
It's not the thoughts, it's the sticky quality of the thoughts. That's what Dzigar Kontrol and Pema Chodron call 'shenpa'.
I have shenpa for certain internet discussions. Last week I was fifteen minutes late for class because I'd been screwing around on the Rebirth thread.
As to patience, my my. I have so much room to grow there.
I love this one phrase: The reward of patience is patience.
It also means checking out my assumptions. It's not unusual for posters to express that they feel they are having to 'show their Buddhist credentials' on the forum.
Actually it's more likely we're just trying to understand where each other is coming from. I found it between me and a couple posters to to share some personal background to explain my view.
I have used this forum to learn patience…an ongoing project for me. It may just take a lifetime. ; ^ )
And:
I have learned to some great extent to bear up under disapproval. This is also not an easy thing for me.
Kind Regards,
S9
It is the nature of the mind to produce thoughts and they come and go, but in this case, you aren't able to let them go. They are sticking with you. You have a fixation going on.
So how to work with that? Stay with the experience, neither indulging it or pushing it away? That's practice.
L: Always read written words with positive tone and intentions.
S9: Yes, and even if you are dead wrong, and they didn’t mean it with any good intentions, at least it can’t harm you because you got a good message, regardless of the facts.
Very often when an offending poster has had some time to cool down a little bit, He will be thankful for the ‘Out’ that you have given him.
Q: “What is sent at you cannot hurt you, unless you accept it and turn around and use it to hurt yourself.”
Said slightly differently:
Ancient Q: “In protecting ourselves, we protect others.”
My father-in-law used to say jokingly. “ You need a PhD to insult that guy.”
Best to have thick skin, and a warm heart.
Warm Regards,
S9
A wonderful goal to aspire to..but I'm currently perusing 4 Buddhist forums, and it hasn't been accomplished in any of them yet.
Darn humans.
Buddhism is enlightenment via life's inevitable challenges.
So what is this "getting the most out of each other" being referred to?
Is it some kind of "embracing" or fraternal love?
S9: I would say it is purely debatable where Liberation is actually found. One might be tempted to say that we are all already 100% completely Liberated, and just don’t realize this, yet. Simply because if Liberation were to come and go, it would certainly be a thing of the mind.
S9: Again, see above.
S9: Buddhism is certainly taken at many levels. One of these is ethical, or the wisdom philosophy of how to live correctly and well. Of course in the Ultimate sense, Buddhism is all about Liberation or Realization of Liberation.
S9: This is again an ethical issue.
I don’t believe that Sky was asking us how we should get Enlightened on this thread. She very simply was asking, how we can reign in our egos a little bit, and act a little better in our dealings on this forum.
If she were to ask you what kind of ice cream you like, chocolate or vanilla, would you say to her, “What has this got to do with Enlightenment? Of course not. In this same way, we can discuss other issues.
Warm Regards,
S9
No they're not! What's wrong with you? Do you have a *problem* or something buddy?
Sheesh..
Mtns
Actually, that's perfect. Being able to have discussions about anything, but with a light heart and a ready sense of humor makes everything better.