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What are People's thoughts on Buddhism VS Spirituality?
DaltheJigsaw
Mountain View Veteran
What are people's thoughts on Buddhism VS Spirituality? Can one Ascend through Buddhism?
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If you mean to equate Buddhism and a specific other religion, it's not easy to do. The goal of Buddhism is liberation from suffering in this life; it isn't a set of things to simply believe in, or as a device to make sure one "ascends" to heaven and not hell. In Buddhist concept, there is no permanent abode, and so ascent into a heavenly realm can not be an ultimate goal.
Buddhism does not deny the teachings of other religions, nor does it acknowledge the truth of them. It is concerned solely with suffering and the cessation of suffering; both of which can be known in this very life, conditions allowing.
I certainly don't believe in spirits or souls. From that perspective I don't believe in spirituality. And what has drawn me to buddhism was precisely the logical aspect of it, and the recognition of no self that can be separated from the body.
In the sense that ""love" is an emergent/transcendent/irreducible relation between two or more individuals, "spirituality" is a relation been an individual and their place in reality.
Dharma may be or may not be mystical, but it is certainly spiritual, in my opinion.
???
It starts with a collection of concepts and convictions. In Buddhism, for example, the Four Noble Truths and how we understand them Other concepts may also be present, along with presuppositions and prejudices about, say, Ultimate Reality (God, liberation, and so on). Included in this concatenation are beliefs about who 'I' am, how this 'I' relates to others and the world around me and the purpose, if any, of these convictions.
This ensemble lead us to make choices about values, likes and dislikes and our life-style and plan. These choices are then underpinned by supportive practices, leading to our individual response experiences. What is often described as 'spirituality' refers to these practices and experiences. These do not, however, stand alone; they are contingent and dependent on the other loci.
It is these experiences strengthen or challenge our concepts and conviction, to maintain them or to change.
When I was first shown this model, I realised that it can be applied far beyond what is normally deemed 'spiritual'. Indeed, it may be seen as a description of scientific method with experiment and supportive evidence as the supportive practice locus
I am grateful for this model to Sister Ishpriya. I have it in schematic form and shall be posting it on my blog.
Thickpaper used the example of "love".
Love is a purely subjective abstract concept. It's not present in the world of "facts".
No, I don't think so. Lots of all experience is subjective, and lots of it is abstract.
When I say "emergent" I mean that something new arises in the world, that wasn't there before, wasn't introduced from outside and isnt reducible or explainable to what was there.
Wonderful things can arise from nothingness:)
namaste
I had to really think about it for a moment and apply examples to it. But yeah, I believe that's quite possibly spirituality right there
Doesn't that kind of go against the laws of karma and causality buddhism holds dear?
Hmmmm why would that be?
Well cause and effect. Any one thing that exists, does so because there was something else that enabled that. Causality.
There's nothing that just "emerges" out of nothingness.
But that is what emergence is, getting something from nothing.
If you believe that here are no independent things, which is a key tennet of dharma, then must you not also believe that all conditioned things arise from merely the interconectedness of other things (themselves arisen from other connections in change).
The dharmic mind emerges from the interrelations of form, perception, sensation etc
The ripening of karma is emergence.
Enlightenment emerges from practice.
Matter emergence from the arrangements of its components.
The middle path emerges from nothingness.
Emergence is one of the most important aspects of reality and dharma.
Trancendence is the highest form of emergence.
I suspect you have or had a mistaken view of what emergence is?
namaste
I'll bring the popcorn if you bring the soda