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Buddhism and Limitations
Transmetaphysical
Veteran
In Buddhism, there are no limitations correct? Because if there were, I would have left or rejected Buddhism immediately. From my understanding, there are things that are considered unskillful, but never forbidden. There is no "thou shall not" etc. I think it is this fact that has allowed me to embrace Buddhism.
I remember watching an online Dharma talk and the speaker was saying that Buddhism is NOT something that should bind you. It is there to free you.
This is something I have contempated because I come from the background as a Free Thinker and anything that blocks the mind or restricts you is an enemy of free thought. I've been influenced by the teachings of J. Krishnamurti, Michael Tsarion, David Icke, and Alan Watts. It was them who kind of openned the gateway to Buddhism, but they were all anti-religion of any kind, any system of thought, any authority, and any belief system (except were sympathetic to Eastern philosophy because their own personal teachings were similar and not dogmatic like Western religion.)
So I was wondering how you guys view Buddhism and does it restrict or bind you.
I remember watching an online Dharma talk and the speaker was saying that Buddhism is NOT something that should bind you. It is there to free you.
This is something I have contempated because I come from the background as a Free Thinker and anything that blocks the mind or restricts you is an enemy of free thought. I've been influenced by the teachings of J. Krishnamurti, Michael Tsarion, David Icke, and Alan Watts. It was them who kind of openned the gateway to Buddhism, but they were all anti-religion of any kind, any system of thought, any authority, and any belief system (except were sympathetic to Eastern philosophy because their own personal teachings were similar and not dogmatic like Western religion.)
So I was wondering how you guys view Buddhism and does it restrict or bind you.
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Comments
Ok, but in your everyday life, have you ever not done something and said to yourself "can't do that, I'm a Buddhist." Or "Buddha said not to so I won't."
ETA: To clarify, I don't mean to imply that Buddhism has no effect on my behavior. Buddhism has caused me to give certain actions a second thought before I undertake them. E.g., "Do I really want to say that? It would cause the other person to become resentful of me or result in me becoming sucked into an argument." or "Do I really need to eat that extra cookie? I'm only doing so as a way of coping with my anxiety and I'd be better off working out instead." It's caused me to look more analytically at my motivations: Am I being driven by internalized messages from a consumerist culture? Am I trying to mediate my suffering in a less-than-effective way? Am I being run around by anger, greed or ignorance that could lead to suffering for me or someone else?
This seems to be one of your defining characteristics. If it defines you, you reject it! I wonder why that is? Could there be a system of thought that you can pull a lot of wisdom from, then simply accept that the system has some unnecessary baggage that need not be tied to you? All or nothing seems an unskillful relationship to anything.
Buddhism is not a boat that you jump into to escape your old, its just a means of practice. Would you say "I refuse to learn french cooking because there are rules I am unwilling to follow"?
There are specific practices and guidelines in Buddhism, though much like Glow said, they are intended on helping you discover for yourself the magic and wonderment of the world, not dictate to you a dogmatic way of thinking. Yes, there are things I choose not to do because it was taught to me to be unskillful. As I have grown in my practice, I can more easily see why it was taught... how the behavior was self-injuring.
Now, as far as Buddhists go, you will find various types of minds who work with the teachings in different ways. Some are very dogmatic, some are very wise. Don't accidentally equate a Buddhist to Buddhism on to Buddha. They're a heck of a lot different!
I fully understand what you're saying. That was actually my previous view of Buddhism. I respected Buddha as a wise philosopher, but rejected Buddhism as a religion that misunderstood his teachings. So even if I were to find out there were limitations in Buddhism, I would reject it, yet still revere Buddha as one of the greatest philosophers.
That is what many people try do. Those people also call themselves Buddhists. haha
I also hear what you're saying. I wonder though why those 'limitations' are setup? Do you think they might have an honorable reason for existence?
I know that certain minds are ready for different levels of understanding. For instance, trying to teach an 8 year old that there is no such thing as "bad actions" or "immoral" or whatnot would confuse, and not help lead them toward a state of balance.
To understand some baggage you see, maybe look as to why the teaching is in place that way. You might find that sometimes the limitation is an amazing tool.
Like Morpheus said, there is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.
To me, it appear as if your ego seems to embrace Buddhism.
Buddhism can be food for the ego just like anything else.
Do you practice meditation? Have you experience deep meditation?
You shall do whatever you like, but you will discover what are the effect of what you do.
Once you know what are the results of what you are doing, you will not want to do most of the evil things.
And if you value your progress, drugs might not be a good idea...
Well I don't know about you, but I wouldn't suggest testing that theory out on the highway when there's a cop around
Mtns
I embraced Buddhism for several reasons but one of the main ones was because it puts the control, and the responsibility squarely on my own shoulders. I love the saying from Buddha that we should question everything, and keep what makes sense to us and leave the rest behind.
And the interesting thing is that due to this freedom, and this empowerment that I feel through the Dharma, I now find myself realizing how some behaviors are simply not beneficial to my mind and body. So I CHOOSE not to do certain things anymore and the appetite for them is simply not there any longer. But it's not because I'm being told NOT to, but rather because I know that these behaviors or habits are simply not beneficial to me, or to others.
I'm not saying that Buddhism is easy, in fact I find it very hard as I no longer take the easy road by keeping my blinders on and not seeing the suffering that we all go through but this pain and awareness is balanced by peace in my heart, and a great joy to be able to appreciate each moment that I leave, each breath and to experience each even and my environment much more than I ever could in the past.
So to me, if we are willing to take be aware of the suffering of humanity, we actually remove the limits that we impose on ourselves in order to cope with the suffering and lead our lives in the pursuit of happiness through material and temporary things.
So for me, I find that Buddhism removes the limitations that we learn as members of today's societies in order to cope.
Your very act of writing on this forum is an expression of your ego-self. So let's not go there. Don't pretend that you have rid yourself of ego. As long as you are in a body and not in a state of thoughtless meditation, you are the ego-self.
I embrace Buddhism for reasons other than my infatuation with advanced philosophy.
I try to meditate, but I haven't reached a state of thougtlessness.
And I have no problem with that.
I'm not a drug user. I've tried marijuana and shrooms a few times in my life, but that's it. That doesn't count as being a "drug user."
Bravo, Olarte. excellent post.
I agree with everything here.
You have to use the teachings to help YOURSELF! Filtering out the unhealthy habits through disciplined practice is a very very effective method.