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Could a person be a Buddhist if they.................

blulotus29blulotus29
edited January 2011 in Buddhism Basics
I like mindfulness but i'm not much into meditating really.
I was thinking about making a list of Buddhist quotes by topic like 1) Kindness 2) Anger etc and use that as my guiding philosophy in life.
Since we aren't required to take all and use all, can I still be a Buddhist and do this?

Comments

  • aHappyNihilistaHappyNihilist Veteran
    I think that when a moderator comes online they might ask you not to make as many separate threads, although i may be wrong and am in no way a moderator.

    Not that your questions aren't good, it's there are alot of other threads and it may be best to A. read those and B. get a more basic understanding of buddhism before you start making a bunch of threads. Again I'd suggest this link: http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/guide.htm
  • blulotus29blulotus29
    Well hopefully they'll understand and it won't be a problem. After all, i'm sure my short little list of separate threads in comparison to the tons that are on here won't really matter that much. ;) Thank you btw.
  • aHappyNihilistaHappyNihilist Veteran
    yes but at the same time it just seems like a less efficient way of getting your questions answered. Read about the three marks of existence, the eightfold path, the four noble truths the concept of anatta, then come back. That would be my suggestion.
  • blulotus29blulotus29
    yes but at the same time it just seems like a less efficient way of getting your questions answered. Read about the three marks of existence, the eightfold path, the four noble truths the concept of anatta, then come back. That would be my suggestion.
    Well hearing it differently from different people helps me to better understand as well.
  • shanyinshanyin Novice Yogin Sault Ontario Veteran
    There's someone on here who - before the personal messages which appeared under the persons post where erased had a good one, but it's not from the Buddha.

    It was something like:

    What good use are all of the holy words spoken by wise men if you don't act on them?
  • 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
    We already have two quotations threads...I think this is sufficient.
    Peruse those, copy which ones resonate and use them to live by.
    I have two books full or pithy and pertinent quotations... nothing wrong with compiling them in a book.
    I am on a mission to not make writing things by hand, obsolete..... ;)
  • SimonthepilgrimSimonthepilgrim Veteran
    Whilst we do, indeed, have a 'useful quotations' thread or two here, I see no harm in new ones being opened. If they inspire some and lengthen, where is the harm? If they do not, they will wither away.

    Two books only, Fede? Ah, you young things. I have over thirty handwritten note books crammed with poetry, scripture, jokes and, even, a few facts, not to mention thousands of cut-and-pastes or "dragon drops" as my wife calls them. And I keep coming across new quotations and new ways of organising them so that they link hands and dance for me.

    I would add that increasing memory loss means that I sometimes discover that a passage which has appeared brand new to me was the subject of an essay by me decades ago. "New every morning" as we used to sing: I greatly look forward to the experience of newness. And, often, I uncap my pen, shake it to get the ink flowing, open my current commonplace book and write because I enjoy the fell and sound and smell of a fountain pen.

    And I do love dictionaries of quotations, of which I have a few on my shelves and saved to disk.
  • Ada_BAda_B
    Yes of course they could call themselves Buddhist and not meditate. OTOH most Buddhists hope to make spiritual progress in this life, since they are aware of the preciousness and rarity of a human life in all our many rebirths. Without meditation, your progress will always be stalled.

    A far more interesting question for me is what you have against meditation? Is it because people are telling you you must do it, and so you are feeling a little rebellious, being a young man. Or is it that you don't really know how to meditate and so you are struggling to learn?

    Either way, I would strongly suggest you find a Buddhist sangha (local group or temple) and join a meditation class. Don't knock it till you've tried it, as they say ;)
  • SimonthepilgrimSimonthepilgrim Veteran
    @blulotus29 : Of course, they are two different things: on the one hand are the practices of Buddhism and, on the other, the work of the collector of quotations. they may overlap or may hardly intersect at all.
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