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The Buddhist Bible and my dad's ignorance

NirvanaNoobNirvanaNoob
edited November 2005 in Faith & Religion
Today I went to Barnes&Noble to get a book that I needed to do a report I needed for school and I found it. Then I started to browse around and I remembered when I visted before I had spotted a book called the Buddhist Bible. So I went to the eastern relgion/philosphy section and It was still there along with the Tae ching, Taosim books and several Zen and Tibetan Buddhist books along with books by the Dahli Lama. I picked it up and started to read it. I found it very interesting so I wanted to buy it. I had my money in my pocket so I asked my dad If I could buy it and he said no. I asked him why. He said "because you are not a buddhist" I didnt say anything but I wanted to say " you dont know what I am. Then while we where going home I told him taht he made me angry when he did that. Then he said that Buddhism was a "cult" and that it was the same as all the other relgions Besides christianity wrong. He didnt auctually say it was wrong but he called it wrong by saying that it was a cult. The thing that didnt make since to me though is that he said I could still research and look at it on the internet but that I cant have any books or basically anything that is not virtual that is related to Buddhism. This makes me angry becasue I talked to my cousin ealier about various problems and he just said just to be myself but now I think I know who I am not a christian but a Buddhist. This is not good since Im in a christian family.:banghead:

Comments

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited November 2005
    Nirvananoob,
    It is those who seemingly go against us who can in fact be our greatest teachers.
    Anger is an extremely destructive emotion, and can really ruin your whole day.
    Your dad labelled Buddhism as a cult, because he doesn't understand it and knows nothing about it.
    But don't think that trying to educate him otherwise will either have any effect on him, or help to dispel the Anger in you.
    The Anger will not go if you feed it, and your father's rejection, or refusal to listen to your point of view will only make you angrier.
    If you know anything about the Eightfold Path, you will know that in every situation, there is a 'Foolish' way to deal with things, and a 'Wise' way. But only you can decide which is which, for yourself.
    You have Mental Anguish right now, because you do not wish to disobey your father (which is commendable) but you do wish to follow your desire to own that book and study further, which is also commendable.
    However, he seems closed-minded and stubborn, and his decision is based on ignorance, which is not commendable. And going behind your father's back and buying the book anyway is defiance and willfullness, which is also not commendable.....
    What you must decide is, weighing the 'Wise' and 'Foolish' aspect of both choices, which one would it be wiser to follow?
  • JasonJason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator
    edited November 2005
    NirvanaNoob,

    If you are still interested, you can read the first edition of A Buddhist Bible by Dwight Goddard online. The copyright was not renewed, so it is free to print without permission from the author, editor, or publisher. The first edition was basically all Mahayana Sutras, while the second edition added a few Theravada Suttas.

    Just click on this link to begin reading: A Buddhist Bible

    :)

    Jason
  • MagwangMagwang Veteran
    edited November 2005
    dude you've come to the right place
  • MagwangMagwang Veteran
    edited November 2005
    sorry for the trite reply = but the buddhist bible is probably not the best place to start. Many here could recommend someting easier to digest.

    Me?

    What the Buddha Taught
    by Walpola Rahula
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802130313/103-4657713-4115849
  • JasonJason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator
    edited November 2005
    NirvanaNoob,

    If you look at it from a different perspective your dad has done you a favor in a way. Buying books can be extremely expenisive, but you can find almost anything about Buddhism online - for free. He has given you persmission to use the best resource available! There are literally hundreds of free books, essays, discourses, and audio Dhamma talks for you to read/listen to at your convenience. Just a few...

    A few sites I have found useful:

    Here is a link to a variety of Sutras from the Mahayana tradition: Mahayana Buddhist Sutras

    Here is a link to a variety of Suttas, books, and essays from the Theravada tradition: A Theravada Library

    Here is a link to a site focusing on the Buddhism of Sri Lanka: Metta Net

    Here is a link to a variety of teachings by Burmese monastics: The Dhamma

    Here is a link to yet more Burmese teachings: eDhamma

    Here is a link to a dictionary of Pali proper names: Pali Proper Names

    Here is a link to a dictionary of Pali terms and doctrines: Pali Terms and Doctrines

    Here is a link to another good site I found: Kalachakra Net

    Here is a link to a gigantic collection of books, Suttas, and essays to read: Buddhasasana

    Here is a link to another large collection of books, articles, essays, etc: Sacred Texts: Buddhism

    Here is a link to some links of Dhamma talks available to listen to: Audio Dhamma talks

    :)

    Jason
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited November 2005
    "From the Little Acorn, the Mighty Oak doth Grow.....";)

    Jason, would you like to duplicate all these links in the useful links thread you started, and I stickied for you? Do you remember?

    In fact, either this one:

    http://www.newbuddhist.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11


    or this one.....

    http://www.newbuddhist.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734


    Thanks!! :)
  • ECMECM
    edited November 2005
    I think you have lots of good advice already, so I won't say anything more on that! ;-) And I think your father sounded a little grumpy. Maybe he had a bad experience with some religion? Anyway, he is he and you are you. Isn't that wonderful?

    Here is something to think about -- what is a cult? I mostly think of a cult as a group of people following someone who is living or who has lived recently, who have ideas that the culture around you don't accept. Like if someone found people to follow them and said they were God. There is a lady in China who says she is Jesus come back! Seriously. She has a lot of people following her. Now, THAT is a cult. Buddhism is not a cult. It is a very respectable religion practiced by many many people around the world. And the nice thing about it is...... they don't end up having wars about religion. Ha!

    Hang in there! If your Dad is grumpy or anyone else is grumpy, you can always go sit somewhere and go to the deep place in your heart where there is a beach and a palm tree and the blue sky and gorgeous ocean, or if you like mountains better you could go there instead and grow some peace. Arguing back will probably be useless. So we have the option of just being ourself in ourselves, and letting other people be themselves. And isn't it great that there is so much on Buddhism on line? You can read about Buddhism all you want.

    Clouds of light and happiness to you!
    EM
  • PalzangPalzang Veteran
    edited November 2005
    In my opinion, your father has given you a great incentive to practice. I'm sure even though you don't like his attitude towards Buddhism you love him as your father. Now you can work to feel compassion for him because of his failure to understand. When you can learn to feel compassion for those who are suffering because of their ignorance, you're already practicing Buddhism! So you can also feel a sense of gratitude for him. And as Jason pointed out, there's tons of stuff online to read, so you can obey your father while still reading as much about Buddhism as you want. Remember, it's because of people like your father that we practice, not despite them.

    Palzang
  • PalzangPalzang Veteran
    edited November 2005
    One more thing: you can also find teachings from a Western perspective on our website, www.tara.org. Hang in there, you're doing fine!

    Palzang
  • EsauEsau
    edited November 2005
    NirvanaNoob,
    I can relate to your situation. My family are strongly Catholic. When I became a Buddhist my father held a family intervention for me. However they failed terribly because they couldn't/wouldn't answer any of my concerns. All they did was tell me that I had been raised in a Catholic environment and their I was to stay.
    Years later when I was a monk, my family wouldn't really wouldn't enter the temple I was at for fear that God would probably strike them down. They also felt that I was now worshipping another God. So I calmly explained to them all about it. Its funny that even my brothers kids today still ask me about the meaning of OM and how to meditate.
    So, just be patient. Buddhism is one of the great religions/phiolosophies that is able to mingle with all systems of faith or belief.

    Esau
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