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buddhist but not buddhist..
ZendoLord84
Veteran
I feel very comfortable with buddha's main teachings; 4 noble truths, eightfold path, vipassana and loving-kindness meditation, 5 precepts, buddha nature, humility and respect, but also listening to your own instincts, thinking in terms of wise and unwise rather then good and evil.
However,
On different forum's on the internet, and in conversations with buddhists there always comes a point we're things 'strand' in rules and different views withing the different schools of buddhism.
I just don't really care. To be honest, the basics are all the same, and it feels for me that the greatest truth lies in those basics, not in chapter 213, paragraph 143 line 64 book 23 written by the third abt of the seventh monestary in the eastern region of this and that country.
it makes me tired. It has made me almost give up on buddhism a couple of times, wich is a real shame. Luckely i'm beyond that point.
I would really like your comments on this...
However,
On different forum's on the internet, and in conversations with buddhists there always comes a point we're things 'strand' in rules and different views withing the different schools of buddhism.
I just don't really care. To be honest, the basics are all the same, and it feels for me that the greatest truth lies in those basics, not in chapter 213, paragraph 143 line 64 book 23 written by the third abt of the seventh monestary in the eastern region of this and that country.
it makes me tired. It has made me almost give up on buddhism a couple of times, wich is a real shame. Luckely i'm beyond that point.
I would really like your comments on this...
0
Comments
It seems you do care.
You see that degree of divergence and fighting over technical issues mostly in internet forums and with real life lay practitioners. The true masters of different schools get along with each other just fine.
The discussions serve a purpose, though. People bring up interesting pieces of information. I don't see why it is such a problem, unless you get yourself into the fight and in the 'my Buddha is better than yours!' behavior.
Join the club.
I base my living entirely on the 4, the 8 and the 5.
What more do you need?
I find all teachings come back to these anyway.
I follow the simpler, more direct approach of Theravada, even though my introduction and formative Buddhist years were spent reading (almost entirely) literature from Mahayana teachers. Pema Chodron, lama Surya das, Sogyal Rinpoche and Tulku Thondup, to name the main ones. Not to mention HH the DL, of course.
So I'm completely on your wavelength and I can tell you, it's not important.
I read the suttas, I learn from them, I take whatever I can from them. But I have never, and never will, quote chapter and verse.
Do I lose out on this?
very probably.
Am I ashamed or remorseful?
No.
I'm fine with it.
Whatever I need, I can get.
What ever I don't need, I leave.
perhaps you are right I do care, I ment I don't care in what book what is written by what buddhist person, they all serve the greater good and the world is too big and filled with too much individuals.
your perception on the discussions is refreshing...
Noble 8 FP
4 NT
3 marks of existence : (Pali, ti-lakkhana; Sanskrit, tri-laksana)
Nios.
In the meantime,
Just read some reliable translation of the pali suttas.
Stay away from speculation as much as possible
Sorry to be ignorant but what's 4, 8, and 5?
you react to this stuff unskillfully.
just see your reaction to it, the sensation in your body, the feeling of frustration itself. See it with equanimity, see it for what it is, and it will eventually dissipate.
And you will be liberated from it.
It's just your reactive mind/conditioning playing yet another trick on you.
As people work out what is in front of them and how that mirrors what is inside them, it often helps to dance around with the ideas in the external, which can often take the shape of debates, online or elsewhere. If you're attempting to reconcile all of those subjective perspectives on the intricacies of the teachings, I can see why it would be exhausting. Whew!
My advice: Practice. Just practice. When it comes to the debates, with practice you'll see the subtlety of the egos and wisdom that are colliding while they are looking for answers, and it won't suck you in. In my experience that is.
With warmth,
Matt
The 4 Noble Truths
The 8-fold path
and the 5 precepts.
17 facets of the Triple gem that underpin, support and form the foundation of all dhammic teachings.
As two separate teachers both told me - Simplify, and be Mindful.
I have not yet found a better way of putting it.
Achieving it is a moment-by-moment daily challenge.
Is there such a thing?
P
No
It's a relative measure
Yup lol slightly obvious but refreshing post.
Then what is it?
I agree that the online one is not the best pali-English translation around
Of course he has only finished 2 nikaya's so far but a little bird told me that the Angutarra is almost ready.
As long as we all take what we read on the internet with a BIG grain of salt, then I believe there is room for everyone's opinion to be voiced and acknowledged, without intruding in each other's boundaries. "Just don't let it get to you" is what I try to remember when I'm on this or any other forum.
As far as the Buddhist school "wars" go, I also don't let that get the best of me, because as Federica so wisely puts it, they all fall back on the same basic teachings and the rest is just added details that may or may not hold merit or relevance to my interests as a student of Buddhism.
Thanks