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Hi! Hola! In my opinion, rather than becoming a monk in any of the 2 religions, it would be more practical to be a lay person, or even have some formal commitment to any of the 2 'Beliefs', and value both personally.
You can follow good things from different philosophies; probably it´s convenient to have one as your main option and guide, and the other as a nice complement.
Also, too many labels and formalism often go against the very good beliefs they are supposedly linked to. Peace and happiness!!
When I was just entering the my transition cusp of when I stopped self-identifying as Christian, I was taking an adult "Sunday School" class that explored other religions. It wasn't about exploring differences, but all the similarities.
The class teacher/facilitator put out a comment that has stuck with me, "I don't think Jesus is about the man. I think its about the message."
I think I've rather taken that idea to heart. Because, suddenly, John 3:16 takes on a whole new feel - "whoever believes in the Message gets eternal life."
Take the "dude" out of the equation and it all seems so much clearer to me. The Messages of Buddhism and Christianity are much closer than I think many allow themselves to believe.
I think most religions share the same basic message. And yet of all of us who identify as a religion of some sort, we fail miserably to act on it time and time again. It's pretty interesting. I think a lot of it comes down to the fear or death and how poorly it's managed in the western societies. I had told my mom a time ago about doing death meditation and she had a fit over it, saying I was in effect praying for death by thinking about it. The fear is strong over death. If you pay attention and dig through the layers of so many of the religious arguments, regardless of the religion, so much of it comes down to "I'm scared to death of what is going to happen to me when I die, so anything that relates to that topic, is what I am going to focus on, because I MUST control those factors in order to be reunited with my loved ones after I die." Very much attachment. So many people of all religions throw "love thy neighbor as thyself" out the window and instead focus on the small details that probably don't matter, and probably make Jesus/Buddha etc facepalm on a regular basis. If you can't do that simple instruction, then what does the rest of it matter? The best I've been able to figure is the fear of death.
People want to keep gays from marrying. They say it is because it is wrong, because God says it is wrong. Well, why should they care? Because in their minds, they have to help save what they view as sinners in order to gain God's good favor to get into heaven. So, instead of loving their neighbor and treating him well and with compassion, they look at his lifestyle through the eyes of fear of their own death.
The danger with religion is that it people often turn to the 'Absolute' (call it 'God' or 'Nirvana' or 'Truth' or whatever) for the comforting illusion of propping up various bigotries in a way that seems, well, absolute. It gives it more weight because its the Truth with a capital 'T' rather than just another opinion. Of course this isn't the fault of religion per se.
Ironically those who shout the loudest about faith (meaning 'strong ideological conviction') are actually the weakest in faith in terms of trusting the spiritual path they claim to be walking. It is their fear and insecurity in a world of change and uncertainty that undermines their very claim of faith. The less fearful and insecure, the more faith. This is ultimately what makes two religious individuals, from Fred Phelps to Thomas Merton, so radically different from one another.
Ideological assent should not be confused with faith. Rather, faith is WHAT YOU DO with your belief, how you embody it in your life. Faith cannot be reproduced from one person to the next by rigidly following an ideological system--it is, in that sense, totally up to the individual to embody his or her faith. No one else can do it for you. But that is what makes fundamentalism so appealing--just nod your head, prop up your pre-existing fears and bigotry with religious language and all your life's worries will be solved. Everything is fixed: you are RIGHT, and 'THEY' are wrong.
Quote - Cinorjer " Christianity is defined as belief in Jesus as Christ, that the only way to Heaven is to accept Christ as your personal savior, and that those who reject Christ are going to Hell. Now you may quietly and privately disagree, but ask your minister or pastor to define Christianity and this is what it says. What Christian denominations that you are aware of does not believe this? "
This is an interpretation. If someone said that to emulate Jesus is the only way to escape from Samsara this would not be controversial. Its just that the words are different and have gathered up all sorts of strange meanings over the years. If someone wants to believe that it is simply a belief in Jesus' existence that gets one to Heaven, as some people do seem to suggest, then, well, there's no accounting for the human propensity to believe what suits them.
Buddhism is about liberation from the world, samsara. Christianity is about believing that God will, eventually, make of the world a heaven. I do not see how the two are compatible.
No. Its about realising that we make our own prison and that with the right guidance we can stop doing it. Samsara is not a noun..its a verb. Its an activity, not a place.
The mental activity of experiencing is the continuity of the mind. When mind is confused and unaware the experience of samsara is reborn moment to moment. Though the continuum of mind never ceases the term rebirth is only applied to mind that is in a state of samsara.
I ran across this today and found it interesting in light of this discussion. TNH is one who talks of God and Jesus quite a lot, and this article is a Baptist minister talking about learning things from TNH. http://www.seattlefirstbaptist.org/Documents/Sermon/Sermon_061008.pdf
Comments
In my opinion, rather than becoming a monk in any of the 2 religions, it would be more practical to be a lay person, or even have some formal commitment to any of the 2 'Beliefs', and value both personally.
You can follow good things from different philosophies; probably it´s convenient to have one as your main option and guide, and the other as a nice complement.
Also, too many labels and formalism often go against the very good beliefs they are supposedly linked to.
Peace and happiness!!
The class teacher/facilitator put out a comment that has stuck with me, "I don't think Jesus is about the man. I think its about the message."
I think I've rather taken that idea to heart. Because, suddenly, John 3:16 takes on a whole new feel - "whoever believes in the Message gets eternal life."
Take the "dude" out of the equation and it all seems so much clearer to me. The Messages of Buddhism and Christianity are much closer than I think many allow themselves to believe.
People want to keep gays from marrying. They say it is because it is wrong, because God says it is wrong. Well, why should they care? Because in their minds, they have to help save what they view as sinners in order to gain God's good favor to get into heaven. So, instead of loving their neighbor and treating him well and with compassion, they look at his lifestyle through the eyes of fear of their own death.
Ironically those who shout the loudest about faith (meaning 'strong ideological conviction') are actually the weakest in faith in terms of trusting the spiritual path they claim to be walking. It is their fear and insecurity in a world of change and uncertainty that undermines their very claim of faith. The less fearful and insecure, the more faith. This is ultimately what makes two religious individuals, from Fred Phelps to Thomas Merton, so radically different from one another.
Ideological assent should not be confused with faith. Rather, faith is WHAT YOU DO with your belief, how you embody it in your life. Faith cannot be reproduced from one person to the next by rigidly following an ideological system--it is, in that sense, totally up to the individual to embody his or her faith. No one else can do it for you. But that is what makes fundamentalism so appealing--just nod your head, prop up your pre-existing fears and bigotry with religious language and all your life's worries will be solved. Everything is fixed: you are RIGHT, and 'THEY' are wrong.
This is an interpretation. If someone said that to emulate Jesus is the only way to escape from Samsara this would not be controversial. Its just that the words are different and have gathered up all sorts of strange meanings over the years. If someone wants to believe that it is simply a belief in Jesus' existence that gets one to Heaven, as some people do seem to suggest, then, well, there's no accounting for the human propensity to believe what suits them.
Samsara is not a noun..its a verb. Its an activity, not a place.
http://www.seattlefirstbaptist.org/Documents/Sermon/Sermon_061008.pdf