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Please help me....
Hey guyz, im in the middle of prime "life" as in about to start exams and halfway through year 12 (im 17 turning 18) . Anyways, im kinda indecisive about buddhism. I reallly like the religions concepts and i always aim to be a nice person (i sometimes slip though....:D like i called this girl a bitch *srry bout language*). However i dont feel the need to enter pure land and wish that after death that i just "vanish" is it Nirvana?. the reason is im sick of life coz its full of suffering but wouldnt pure land be suffering too, no? Ok i'll explain from my perspective.
U see existing in pure land is technically living forever, and that would get boring. In the scriptures, they say pure land is full of diamonds, singing birds etc. u get my point; so y would I want to go there if i gave up alll material things when im enlighened? I noe that the scriptures say this to "lure" people and a nun told me that in actual fact u chant everyday and mediatate in pure land.:hrm: Oh wat fun looolz
So to summarise. Y would i want to go to pure land after i die? Wouldnt it b boring? please help me as i find myself being less drawn to practicing buddhism. TY:)
U see existing in pure land is technically living forever, and that would get boring. In the scriptures, they say pure land is full of diamonds, singing birds etc. u get my point; so y would I want to go there if i gave up alll material things when im enlighened? I noe that the scriptures say this to "lure" people and a nun told me that in actual fact u chant everyday and mediatate in pure land.:hrm: Oh wat fun looolz
So to summarise. Y would i want to go to pure land after i die? Wouldnt it b boring? please help me as i find myself being less drawn to practicing buddhism. TY:)
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Comments
Pure Land Buddhism is one sect of Buddhism. Not all Buddhists believe that there is such a thing as a "Pure Land" where we all go and be happy forever and as far as I am aware it is not something that the Buddha himself taught but appears to be a later addition. Please don't let Pure Land Buddhism be the reason for you to reject ALL forms of Buddhism, there's some really good and useful stuff under the large umbrella of Buddhism. It will take a little effort and discernment to find the truth, but anything worth doing requires effort.
As far as the nature of Nibbana goes, as I understand it, it could be described as "vanishing" from a certain perspective. Nibbana is sometimes described as the "cessation of perception and feeling". That is, it is beyond the range of the five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, thought, consciousness) and in order to realize it "you" (or more accurately, who "you" take yourself to be - i.e. the aggregates) have to vanish. So, from another perspective, there is no one who vanishes because the five aggregates are empty of anything which we can say is "me", "mine" or "myself".
- Visuddhi-Magga XVI
But, lacking direct experience of this great vanishing act, for me it is something I take on my faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. However, short of realizing Nibbana for myself, I have encountered a lot of tangible benefit in this lifetime from the practice and continue to do so which is the reason why my faith grows.
I hope this makes things a little less uncertain.
With Metta,
Guy
As GuyC said, Pure Land is a specific school of Buddhism and the concept is not found in any others. Generally, when people think "Buddhism" they think Tibetan Buddhism, but Zen and Theravada are also very common. I wouldn't classify Pure Land as one of the main schools.
However, from the Pure Landers I've talked to, many of them consider the Pure Land to be a mental state, much like many practitioners feel Hell/Heaven/Animal Realm etc. are mental states as opposed to places. However, I don't know enough about it to really comment.
But, I will comment on the rest of your post:
No. This is called "craving for nonexistence." It's based in self-view.
The Buddha taught that in life, there is suffering, but he taught the reason for it (namely, craving and ignorance) and a path to freedom from it in the here-and-now (the Eightfold Path). Nibbana happens in this life. It's not nonexistence after death.
I would suggest these links:
http://www.what-buddha-taught.net/Articles/Bhikkhu_Buddhadasa_NIBBANA_FOR_EVERYONE.htm
http://www.what-buddha-taught.net/Books3/Bhikkhu_Buddhadasa_The_Danger_of_I.htm
This comes off profoundly confusing in my opinion. Firstly "cessation" is a misleading term and "freedom from" might be more appropriate. Yes, the "you" or "self" has to "vanish," but this merely means clinging to the aggregates as self has to cease. Nibbana is not beyond the aggregates but is pure aggregates, aggregates without clinging.
I see what you are saying. Nibbana, when referred to as "cessation of perception and feeling" is described almost as if it is an "extra" Jhana/Immaterial State. So, maybe it is an actual temporary cessation of these aggregates (which has been suggested by some experienced meditators) the result of which is, once the person comes out of their meditation, a non-clinging to the aggregates.
But again, I don't know any of this myself, I am not an Arahant so I haven't actually "touched" this state before. Maybe I understand this correctly, maybe not. It is a waste of time for me to discuss this any further due to lack of experience, everything I say is based on the Suttas, inference, hearsay.
With Metta,
Guy
P.S. - Uncertain, if anything I have said leads to an increase in confusion then please disregard it.
If you don't like chanting or singing then for you a pure land wouldn't contain those things. Many people do like chanting and singing however.
But you are probably not found out for yourself at age 17 what is conducive to learning the dharma so you don't know how to create a pure land. You are on a different step of the path. The first step. The accumulation step where you accumulate the things you need to progress on the path. Well thats how I see it I am not a teacher. Be well.