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@vinlyn said:
Greg911, 2 more posts and no answers. Until you start actually answering questions that are asked of you, personally I'm going to discount everything you say. If you want to be credible, please answer the questions. No one is refusing to listen, we are just refusing a runaround.
What is credible? How is it proven? A Book? Someone who says they know?
The truth is not the property of any religion.
@Greg911 said:
There is only one self. We are all the same self. Why do you need a book or any one to prove it? Can't you think for your self
I'm not the one making unsupported claims.
In an earlier post you said that the Buddha saw all his past lives, and used that unsupported evidence to prove a previous unsupported claim that the self contained a record of all that ever was.
Sorry, @Greg911, but this mystic-cryptical style of yours does not make for serious debatable material.
There's no possible dialogue with you this way.
You can't bandy unsupported claims about and expect us to take you seriously.
I understand that you have been through a rough patch, but when you enter a discussion, threads inevitably go way off topic and become a joke.
Yes that is doubt. How do you support it. how do you prove it isn't the truth? We are not talking about your car we are talking about you. You are the only one who can verify it.
@DhammaDragon said:
Sorry, Greg911, but this mystic-cryptical style of yours does not make for serious debatable material.
There's no possible dialogue with you this way.
You can't bandy unsupported claims about and expect us to take you seriously.
I understand that you have been through a rough patch, but when you enter a discussion, threads inevitably go way off topic and become a joke.
The top seven things to do if you’re going to call yourself a good Buddhist even though I highly recommend avoiding the label entirely
1) Have a connection to mindfulness-awareness practice
It’s hard to call yourself a Buddhist if you aren’t even working with your mind. So it’s important to learn shamatha meditation, visualization practices and so on from skilled and authorized teachers within a Buddhist lineage
2) Seek enlightenment/further awakening
What’s the point in having a meditation practice if you’re not trying to change at all? In my experience when people came to the meditation center I used to direct they weren’t yet seeking enlightenment; they were seeking a way to work with their mind to reduce their own suffering. I think any motivation in between wanting to be less mired in confusion and ultimate awakening is damn fine since it’s based in a desire to better oneself.
3) Learn something
Study. Study a lot. Read a dharma book. Go receive instruction from great teachers (I’m inclined to plug Kilung Rinpoche‘s upcoming visit to the New York Shambhala Center). Listen to a podcast. Watch a video. But meditation without study is like riding a bicycle with one wheel – you’re not going to get very far. I am always impressed by the greatest meditation masters who just exude wisdom and compassion. They continue to study every day. As the great scholar Sakya Pandita said, “Even if you are going to die tomorrow you can still learn something tonight.”
4) Learn from fellow practitioners
Just because they’re not enlightened doesn’t mean you can’t learn from a sangha. Personally speaking I’ve found it essential to have fellow travelers on the path to discuss my experience of meditation practice, to debate philosophical topics, and to call me on my shit. I talked about that in more depth in this post.
5) Don’t cause harm
Nice work if you can get it and you can get it if you try. It does take time and care though. So often even the most seemingly harmless comments can cause negativity in the minds of those around us. The more we become mindful of our words and actions the less we find ourselves creating harm in the world.
6) Do some good for the world
Sid could have sat under the bodhi tree content to believe that none of us jerks would really be able to understand his teachings. Instead he got up and went about trying to lead everyone he encountered towards awakening. Granted we’re not yet buddhas but beyond trying not to f things up in the world around us we can try to plant some positive seeds. While a bit corny I think even just smiling at someone who looks like they’re going through hell has a ripple effect not unlike that of a butterfly’s wings leading to a tsunami.
7) Last but not least, consider meditation practice practice for our life
It is wonderful to sit on a cushion for a period of time each day or week. However, it doesn’t really mean anything unless we consider that we call it practice because we are training ourselves for the 23 1/2 hours of our day when we are not meditating. We can do any number of outwardly spiritual things to show the world how holy we are but if we do not take the teachings on wisdom and compassion to heart then we’re just spouting confusion under the label of Buddhism. And that’s dumb.
I remember when I was a beginning practitioner I went on a long drive with my mother, someone who had at that point been practicing meditation for over twenty years. She was speaking negatively about someone and, once frustrated, I turned to her and exclaimed, “How can you say that and still call yourself a Buddhist?” I feel quite foolish looking back on that incident. I know many Buddhists who are much sloppier with their speech, who drink forties for breakfast, who will try to fuck anything that moves. Still, I would never deny them the right to call themselves Buddhist because their primary motivation is not to give in to negative habits but to wake up from them.
The Buddhist path is that of change through working with your own mind and heart. It seems you’re into that Mona, so feel free to call yourself whatever you like. The important thing in my mind, and I imagine Sid would agree, is that you are trying to wake up.
I've been following this thread with utter astonishment. First it was an interesting title with an nearly incomprehensible OP. Then it was a steady decline into .......... well, what we have now.
Can I go back to the title, for just a moment?
How do I begin being a better Buddhist?
@ lobster - maybe you should just go talk to Mr. Cushion. He always seems to have your answers.
Otherwise, I'd suggest you simply forget about trying to be a "better" Buddhst. Whatever kind of Buddhist you are now, is what you are. In the next moment, you will be a different one. If you ruminate being better, that moment of being a Buddhist will slip right by. In fact, if this thread is any indicator, several moments will pass and you'll miss every one of them, mired is some previous moment's memory.
I am not a good Buddhist as far as attending Buddhist gatherings and handing out donations, but I try to be a good Buddhist at heart by meditating and chanting. If only I can look successful on the outside as well as the inside. That is what I am aiming for.
@namarupa said:
I am not a good Buddhist as far as attending Buddhist gatherings and handing out donations, but I try to be a good Buddhist at heart by meditating and chanting. If only I can look successful on the outside as well as the inside. That is what I am aiming for.
Don't be so hard on yourself. Your personal expresssion of the path is the result of your karma. It's neither good nor bad. It just is what it is. If you can't attend a center for practice and fellowship, fine. It doesn't make you a bad buddhist. I don't think there's any such thing. You're on the path just like the rest of us .......
And you walk it. It is what it is. Your practice is what's truly important, not your self-evaluation.
1
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
@Greg911 said:It is the interface and it owns everything. It is basically Jeffrey.
@Greg911, I commented earlier on, regarding the sheer obscurity of your posts, but my comment appeared completely out of sync, so I shall try again.
Your contributions are getting tiresome, and frankly you're being a right royal pain.
Please try to interact with other members, like a normal human being, because all this pseudo-intellectual babble really isn't helping anyone.
Please try to interact with other members, like a normal human being, because all this pseudo-intellectual babble really isn't helping anyone.
How - has it right. My intent is right. My skillfulness is not so good. I can see that. I will have to meditate on this. I am causing a reaction I don't fully understand.
Metta
0
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
@Greg911, just don't try to give obscure answers. Do you talk to people like that on an everyday basis, "in real life"? Do you say deeply meaningful, obscure, abstract things to them?
I mean, if anyone asks you "Would you like fries with that?" do you respond with, "Fries do not exist. they are a mental construct and your self cannot be nourished by them. indeed, the self needs no nourishment, because of not-self"... or do you say "yes/no thanks"....?
When you see the Buddha in them. That is all that matters.
A sanga for me is more. I am telling you what I have experienced and what I think about it. That is all. If that is not what you are doing I am not helping.
No I'm calling Shenanigans on your intentions. I don't doubt the Buddha's words. If I did, I wouldn't have taken refuge. I'm starting to doubt your sanity though.
1
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
@Greg911 said: I will have to meditate on this. I am causing a reaction I don't fully understand.
No I'm calling Shenanigans on your intentions. I don't doubt the Buddha's words. If I did, I wouldn't have taken refuge. I'm starting to doubt your sanity though.
Indeed.
If you read his translated poetry it alludes rather than says the ineffable.
He was a Buddha without the name.
I think some of the best Buddhists, were not Buddhist at all.
Yes.
I feel it is right to immerse ourselves in Dharma but there is wisdom, compassion, acceptance, patience . . . and qualities such as beauty, service, humbling, craft, hospitality etc in other dharmas.
. . . perhaps if Buddha means awake and Buddhists follow the path to awakening, Rumi was a best Buddhist . . .
I feel better for considering that . . . many thanks
1
HamsakagoosewhispererPolishing the 'just so'Veteran
@Greg911 said:
When you see the Buddha in them. That is all that matters.
A sanga for me is more. I am telling you what I have experienced and what I think about it. That is all. If that is not what you are doing I am not helping.
Metta
Wrong, Greg. It's NOT all that matters unless we're just a bunch of sociopaths stroking each other's egos, which I sort of doubt.
This might be an online sangha but it is a REAL sangha, the only sangha available for some of us. You gotta hold up your end of it . You have to show up. No hiding behind slippery vacuous new-age (and extremely non-scriptural) mumbo jumbo about everyone's "buddha nature".
Either show up genuinely or what's the point? Just getting attention? You want more that that, I sincerely hope!
@lobster said
I feel it is right to immerse ourselves in Dharma but there is wisdom, compassion, acceptance, patience . . . and qualities such as beauty, service, humbling, craft, hospitality etc in other dharmas.
It does not mean going so wide we lose the plot, it means valuing the companions who are aiding the rowing. As for those sinking in delusions of incomprehensibility, compassion is in order but sometimes compassion has a hard boot up the nether regions . . . Too wikid?
I agree with @how. I try to bring my attention back to the breath and then let myself enjoy it...even in the middle of the day, surrounded by nonsense.
This thread is about being a better Buddhist ... and here we have a few 'Buddhists' ganging up on one member. @lobster, does this answer your question?
@betaboy said:
This thread is about being a better Buddhist ... and here we have a few 'Buddhists' ganging up on one member. lobster, does this answer your question?
I don't see it as ganging up. I see it as repeatedly asking for clarifications...and then getting none. We can't quite figure out where he's coming from.
@betaboy said:
This thread is about being a better Buddhist ... and here we have a few 'Buddhists' ganging up on one member. lobster, does this answer your question?
It does.
However not in the way you imply.
Being kind to the point of 'idiot compassion' is not discernment.
One of the Buddha’s most penetrating discoveries is that our intentions are the main factors shaping our lives and that they can be mastered as a skill. If we subject them to the same qualities of mindfulness, persistence, and discernment involved in developing any skill, we can perfect them to the point where they will lead to no regrets or damaging results in any given situation; ultimately, they can lead us to the truest possible happiness. To train our intentions in this way, though, requires a deep level of self-awareness. Thanissaro Bhikkhu from The Road to Nirvana Is Paved with Skillful Intentions
@vinlyn and others are expressing the confusion inherent in someone's communication. Remember when I used to call you grumpy puss? This was to give you a clear indication of how you came across. Just as I am sometimes elusive and unclear and people mention this . . . The intention is towards greater clarity, which requires the right questioning . . .
Just observing own breath makes lot peace to mind. Many detracting thoughts and habits can also be won over through this technique.
It is called anapana.
@vinlyn said:
I don't see it as ganging up. I see it as repeatedly asking for clarifications...and then getting none. We can't quite figure out where he's coming from.>
If he'd been famous, I am sure his 'strange' responses would have been construed as wise, zen-like utterances.
1
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Yes but he isn't, so it's all an enigma to all of us. And frankly, the more a pseudo-intellectual spouts gibberish, the less he makes sense, no matter who he is. We've had a couple of those in the UK, and in spite of their 'fame' they've been thoroughly dismissed as utter quacks.
@DhammaDragon said:
Another interesting link on the marks identifying a good Buddhist.
This one almost works like a questionary.
I wonder how many traits we can tick
Edit: before anybody starts off a serious debate on this link, the result of this poll is a bit of a joke.
In more ways than one
0
silverIn the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded.USA, Left coast.Veteran
edited November 2014
@rohit said:
Just observing own breath makes lot peace to mind. Many detracting thoughts and habits can also be won over through this technique.
It is called anapana.
For those who don't know - but I'm just learning so, it's for me more than anyone, perhaps:
Anapana sati, the meditation on in-and-out breathing, is the first subject of meditation expounded by the Buddha in the Maha-satipatthana Sutta, the Great Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness. The Buddha laid special stress on this meditation, for it is the gateway to enlightenment and Nibbana adopted by all the Buddhas of the past as the very basis for their attainment of Buddhahood. When the Blessed One sat at the foot of the Bodhi Tree and resolved not to rise until he had reached enlightenment, he took up anapana sati as his subject of meditation. On the basis of this, he attained the four jhanas, recollected his previous lives, fathomed the nature of samsara, aroused the succession of great insight knowledges, and at dawn, while 100,000 world systems trembled, he attained the limitless wisdom of a Fully Enlightened Buddha.
Let us then offer our veneration to the Blessed One, who became a peerless world-transcending Buddha through this meditation of anapana sati. May we comprehend this subject of meditation fully, with wisdom resplendent like the sun and moon. Through its power may we attain the blissful peace of Nibbana.
However not in the way you imply.
Being kind to the point of 'idiot compassion' is not discernment.
One of the Buddha’s most penetrating discoveries is that our intentions are the main factors shaping our lives and that they can be mastered as a skill. If we subject them to the same qualities of mindfulness, persistence, and discernment involved in developing any skill, we can perfect them to the point where they will lead to no regrets or damaging results in any given situation; ultimately, they can lead us to the truest possible happiness. To train our intentions in this way, though, requires a deep level of self-awareness.
Thanissaro Bhikkhu from The Road to Nirvana Is Paved with Skillful Intentions
@vinlyn and others are expressing the confusion inherent in someone's communication. Remember when I used to call you grumpy puss? This was to give you a clear indication of how you came across. Just as I am sometimes elusive and unclear and people mention this . . . The intention is towards greater clarity, which requires the right questioning . . .
and this is apposed to my questioning? I was told you were not responsible for my answers?
Where and how do you learn to master the skill?
Do you really think that being famous makes any difference to the truth?
The Buddha didn't start out famous.
I guess you just assume I think I am there at the goal. I am on the path just like you.
@federica said:
Yes but he isn't, so it's all an enigma to all of us. And frankly, the more a pseudo-intellectual spouts gibberish, the less he makes sense, no matter who he is. We've had a couple of those in the UK, and in spite of their 'fame' they've been thoroughly dismissed as utter quacks.
You have a hard job I wouldn't want it you protect the sangha as best you can.
What I have told you I have experienced I can't change that. Perhaps I am not clear enough about what I think about it. But it is not from some book I read. I know many of the things I have said seem unbelievable.
Most of my backup was lost when thebigview.com was shut down.
1
silverIn the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded.USA, Left coast.Veteran
@Greg911 said:What I have told you I have experienced I can't change that. Perhaps I am not clear enough about what I think about it. But it is not from some book I read. I know many of the things I have said seem unbelievable. Most of my backup was lost when thebigview.com was shut down.
,,,It can be hard work to express stuff you rez with in print ... to put it into your own words, and we get lazy, speaking from my own experience. This much I understand.
In the words of the blogger:
"Clearly much of this is made up. And many of these are contradictory. A lot of these statements rely on interpretation of popular culture. Many are idealized notions of what a Buddhist and especially a “good” Buddhist is. While some have basis in Buddhist thought, quite a few have nothing to do with Buddhism at all."
It throws a funny light on certain conceptions and misconceptions Buddhists and non-Buddhists have about what traits identify the good Buddhists.
A joke in more ways than one, but on hindsight, more relevant to the OP than certain comments that we've seen lately.
1
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
@Greg911 said: You have a hard job I wouldn't want it you protect the sangha as best you can.
>
It's not so much 'protection'. I have to try to discern what makes sense, and what doesn't, in terms of member compatibility (among other things). And if a member causes some kind of disruption and un-ease - in whichever way that happens - and others pass comment, I have to evaluate the situation and try to establish the best result I can.
What I have told you I have experienced I can't change that. Perhaps I am not clear enough about what I think about it. But it is not from some book I read. I know many of the things I have said seem unbelievable.
>
I frankly don't really care to evaluate whether people are being honest or not, or whether what they say is believable, or not. That's not the issue here; that's a whole different ball-game.
YOUR problem, is that your method of communication is obtuse, obscure, enigmatic, puzzling, and frankly, at times, utterly meaningless.
Remember this is NEWbuddhist. A place for the exchange and transmission of information for novice members and those interested in the basic tenets of Buddhism, and a place for them to explore and investigate in a preliminary basic way.
You manner of communication does not tick those boxes and is off-putting.
Thanks guys.
Today I had 'monkey body', bent over like a chimp from too much digging. The body, like life experiences is one of my richest sources of dharma. I say, 'this is the way to a better being' and the body has its own monkey mind agenda . . .
I am a Buddha trapped in a monkey
ah well aren't we all . . .
@Tosh, @Hamsaka and others describe the no drink rule for their chimp body. I feel we have physical needs, cravings, hormonal periods, anger arisings, fight or flight tiger responses, illnesses, wear and tear, etc. - we are apes. Well I am.
We also have karmic traps, culture, socialisation, indoctrination by region, religion and the good monkeying of our peers.
. . . however the community of friends, the cyber sangha can perspire us in circles . . . or as I feel you guys demonstrate. inspire greater commitment and effort to be a better person, which might be all a better Buddhist needs . . .
Many thanks {{{{ group hug }}}} - and if that felt weird, maybe it is . . .
You must also consider @federica that there are buddhists here who have no time to practice full time but have been involved in the religion and wish to share deeper levels of knowledge and understanding, as well as a sangha, that is not necessarily found on other sites....
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Yes, but it helps if, when they 'speak' they make themselves understood. Nobody likes pseudo-intellectual clever-speak. it's unnecessary. Buddhism in plain english works best here.
1
HamsakagoosewhispererPolishing the 'just so'Veteran
I've admitted before that anything BUT plain English is hard for me to plow through. It hampers my sutta study and made me fall asleep in Classic Lit. Thank gawd for Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Even so, I tend to respond positively to what I need to learn in spite of how it's written. Most of the time, 'flowery pseudo intellectual clever speak' outs itself and is just plain irritating in its demand for attention for the writer. With Lobster I 'get' what he's saying often enough that when I don't get it, I don't end up feeling resentful. Mind you I THINK I 'get' what he's saying . I also THINK I understand what this thread has degenerated into, but I could be wrong there too.
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SarahTTime ... space ... joySouth Coast, UKVeteran
Love, just love @DhammaDragon's list. But, for me, there's also an element of not taking myself too seriously. Terry Pratchett's monks who really "get" it spend most of their time sweeping the floor or gardening. So, as one who is more than happy to argue that black is white and still has doubts about whether there is any absolute "truth", am reminded of two things by earlier comments in this thread:
Douglas Adam's character who argued black was white and got run over on the next zebra crossing he came to;
Comments
What is credible? How is it proven? A Book? Someone who says they know?
The truth is not the property of any religion.
@Greg911 What does the ego do?
I'm not the one making unsupported claims.
In an earlier post you said that the Buddha saw all his past lives, and used that unsupported evidence to prove a previous unsupported claim that the self contained a record of all that ever was.
Thanks guys.
As most of us know:
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck pot, then it probably is daffy.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_test
Dumber Dharma, quack pot darshan and armchair enlightenment are not better Buddhism - who guessed? Platitudes are for platypuses.
I was inspired by @dhammachick deckchair dharma or rather beach Buddhism. Mindful, meditation, awareness and back to reality . . .
. . . ah feeling better now the duck is cooking itself . . .
Keep up the good work
It is the interface and it owns everything. It is basically Jeffrey.
There's no possible dialogue with you this way.
You can't bandy unsupported claims about and expect us to take you seriously.
I understand that you have been through a rough patch, but when you enter a discussion, threads inevitably go way off topic and become a joke.
Yes that is doubt. How do you support it. how do you prove it isn't the truth? We are not talking about your car we are talking about you. You are the only one who can verify it.
Verify what? A claim that you made? Why would I do that if it doesn't even seem likely to me?
Metta
Just to get the topic into track, I found this interesting link on how to be, not quite a better Buddhist, but at least a good one:
http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/onecity/2009/10/by-lodro-rinzlerbefore-siddhartha-gautama.html#
Metta to everyone!
Perhaps the ultimate statement of truly knowing is "I don't know."
I've been following this thread with utter astonishment. First it was an interesting title with an nearly incomprehensible OP. Then it was a steady decline into .......... well, what we have now.
Can I go back to the title, for just a moment?
@ lobster - maybe you should just go talk to Mr. Cushion. He always seems to have your answers.
Otherwise, I'd suggest you simply forget about trying to be a "better" Buddhst. Whatever kind of Buddhist you are now, is what you are. In the next moment, you will be a different one. If you ruminate being better, that moment of being a Buddhist will slip right by. In fact, if this thread is any indicator, several moments will pass and you'll miss every one of them, mired is some previous moment's memory.
Better that what? A memory? Nothing.
OK I'm on it . . .
I am not a good Buddhist as far as attending Buddhist gatherings and handing out donations, but I try to be a good Buddhist at heart by meditating and chanting. If only I can look successful on the outside as well as the inside. That is what I am aiming for.
Acceptance and patience are two key principles of being a good Buddhist.
Although not a Buddhist, this Rumi fella had a few good ideas too.
http://www.gratefulness.org/poetry/guest_house.htm
Woops, posted wrong link first time. (Fixed)
I think some of the best Buddhists, were not Buddhist at all.
Don't be so hard on yourself. Your personal expresssion of the path is the result of your karma. It's neither good nor bad. It just is what it is. If you can't attend a center for practice and fellowship, fine. It doesn't make you a bad buddhist. I don't think there's any such thing. You're on the path just like the rest of us .......
well ...... maybe not @lobster .....
And you walk it. It is what it is. Your practice is what's truly important, not your self-evaluation.
@Greg911, I commented earlier on, regarding the sheer obscurity of your posts, but my comment appeared completely out of sync, so I shall try again.
Your contributions are getting tiresome, and frankly you're being a right royal pain.
Please try to interact with other members, like a normal human being, because all this pseudo-intellectual babble really isn't helping anyone.
How do I begin being a better Buddhist?
By becoming enlightened
How - has it right. My intent is right. My skillfulness is not so good. I can see that. I will have to meditate on this. I am causing a reaction I don't fully understand.
Metta
@Greg911, just don't try to give obscure answers. Do you talk to people like that on an everyday basis, "in real life"? Do you say deeply meaningful, obscure, abstract things to them?
I mean, if anyone asks you "Would you like fries with that?" do you respond with, "Fries do not exist. they are a mental construct and your self cannot be nourished by them. indeed, the self needs no nourishment, because of not-self"... or do you say "yes/no thanks"....?
When you see the Buddha in them. That is all that matters.
A sanga for me is more. I am telling you what I have experienced and what I think about it. That is all. If that is not what you are doing I am not helping.
Metta
No I'm calling Shenanigans on your intentions. I don't doubt the Buddha's words. If I did, I wouldn't have taken refuge. I'm starting to doubt your sanity though.
You're not the only one.
You> @dhammachick said:
In what way?
Accepted.
Indeed.
If you read his translated poetry it alludes rather than says the ineffable.
He was a Buddha without the name.
Yes.
I feel it is right to immerse ourselves in Dharma but there is wisdom, compassion, acceptance, patience . . . and qualities such as beauty, service, humbling, craft, hospitality etc in other dharmas.
. . . perhaps if Buddha means awake and Buddhists follow the path to awakening, Rumi was a best Buddhist . . .
I feel better for considering that . . . many thanks
Wrong, Greg. It's NOT all that matters unless we're just a bunch of sociopaths stroking each other's egos, which I sort of doubt.
This might be an online sangha but it is a REAL sangha, the only sangha available for some of us. You gotta hold up your end of it
. You have to show up. No hiding behind slippery vacuous new-age (and extremely non-scriptural) mumbo jumbo about everyone's "buddha nature".
Either show up genuinely or what's the point? Just getting attention? You want more that that, I sincerely hope!
I feel it is right to immerse ourselves in Dharma but there is wisdom, compassion, acceptance, patience . . . and qualities such as beauty, service, humbling, craft, hospitality etc in other dharmas.
There are other dharmas?
I would widen dharma beyond the dharmic religions if it gets people to the far shore . . .
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma
It does not mean going so wide we lose the plot, it means valuing the companions who are aiding the rowing. As for those sinking in delusions of incomprehensibility, compassion is in order but sometimes compassion has a hard boot up the nether regions . . . Too wikid?
Fluffy bunny dharma never was my forte . . .
I agree with @how. I try to bring my attention back to the breath and then let myself enjoy it...even in the middle of the day, surrounded by nonsense.
This thread is about being a better Buddhist ... and here we have a few 'Buddhists' ganging up on one member. @lobster, does this answer your question?
I don't see it as ganging up. I see it as repeatedly asking for clarifications...and then getting none. We can't quite figure out where he's coming from.
It does.
However not in the way you imply.
Being kind to the point of 'idiot compassion' is not discernment.
One of the Buddha’s most penetrating discoveries is that our intentions are the main factors shaping our lives and that they can be mastered as a skill. If we subject them to the same qualities of mindfulness, persistence, and discernment involved in developing any skill, we can perfect them to the point where they will lead to no regrets or damaging results in any given situation; ultimately, they can lead us to the truest possible happiness. To train our intentions in this way, though, requires a deep level of self-awareness.
Thanissaro Bhikkhu from The Road to Nirvana Is Paved with Skillful Intentions
@vinlyn and others are expressing the confusion inherent in someone's communication. Remember when I used to call you grumpy puss? This was to give you a clear indication of how you came across. Just as I am sometimes elusive and unclear and people mention this . . . The intention is towards greater clarity, which requires the right questioning . . .
Another interesting link on the marks identifying a good Buddhist.
This one almost works like a questionary.
I wonder how many traits we can tick
http://enlightenmentward.wordpress.com/2010/07/03/the-approximately-32-marks-of-a-good-buddhist/
Edit: before anybody starts off a serious debate on this link, the result of this poll is a bit of a joke.
Just observing own breath makes lot peace to mind. Many detracting thoughts and habits can also be won over through this technique.
It is called anapana.
If he'd been famous, I am sure his 'strange' responses would have been construed as wise, zen-like utterances.
Yes but he isn't, so it's all an enigma to all of us. And frankly, the more a pseudo-intellectual spouts gibberish, the less he makes sense, no matter who he is. We've had a couple of those in the UK, and in spite of their 'fame' they've been thoroughly dismissed as utter quacks.
In more ways than one
For those who don't know - but I'm just learning so, it's for me more than anyone, perhaps:
Anapana sati, the meditation on in-and-out breathing, is the first subject of meditation expounded by the Buddha in the Maha-satipatthana Sutta, the Great Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness. The Buddha laid special stress on this meditation, for it is the gateway to enlightenment and Nibbana adopted by all the Buddhas of the past as the very basis for their attainment of Buddhahood. When the Blessed One sat at the foot of the Bodhi Tree and resolved not to rise until he had reached enlightenment, he took up anapana sati as his subject of meditation. On the basis of this, he attained the four jhanas, recollected his previous lives, fathomed the nature of samsara, aroused the succession of great insight knowledges, and at dawn, while 100,000 world systems trembled, he attained the limitless wisdom of a Fully Enlightened Buddha.
Let us then offer our veneration to the Blessed One, who became a peerless world-transcending Buddha through this meditation of anapana sati. May we comprehend this subject of meditation fully, with wisdom resplendent like the sun and moon. Through its power may we attain the blissful peace of Nibbana.
from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/ariyadhamma/bl115.html
However not in the way you imply.
Being kind to the point of 'idiot compassion' is not discernment.
One of the Buddha’s most penetrating discoveries is that our intentions are the main factors shaping our lives and that they can be mastered as a skill. If we subject them to the same qualities of mindfulness, persistence, and discernment involved in developing any skill, we can perfect them to the point where they will lead to no regrets or damaging results in any given situation; ultimately, they can lead us to the truest possible happiness. To train our intentions in this way, though, requires a deep level of self-awareness.
Thanissaro Bhikkhu from The Road to Nirvana Is Paved with Skillful Intentions
@vinlyn and others are expressing the confusion inherent in someone's communication. Remember when I used to call you grumpy puss? This was to give you a clear indication of how you came across. Just as I am sometimes elusive and unclear and people mention this . . . The intention is towards greater clarity, which requires the right questioning . . .
and this is apposed to my questioning? I was told you were not responsible for my answers?
Where and how do you learn to master the skill?
Do you really think that being famous makes any difference to the truth?
The Buddha didn't start out famous.
I guess you just assume I think I am there at the goal. I am on the path just like you.
You have a hard job I wouldn't want it you protect the sangha as best you can.
What I have told you I have experienced I can't change that. Perhaps I am not clear enough about what I think about it. But it is not from some book I read. I know many of the things I have said seem unbelievable.
Most of my backup was lost when thebigview.com was shut down.
,,,It can be hard work to express stuff you rez with in print ... to put it into your own words, and we get lazy, speaking from my own experience. This much I understand.
That pretty well sums it up for me.
However, you have every right to your beliefs and using them in your practice.
In the words of the blogger:
"Clearly much of this is made up. And many of these are contradictory. A lot of these statements rely on interpretation of popular culture. Many are idealized notions of what a Buddhist and especially a “good” Buddhist is. While some have basis in Buddhist thought, quite a few have nothing to do with Buddhism at all."
It throws a funny light on certain conceptions and misconceptions Buddhists and non-Buddhists have about what traits identify the good Buddhists.
A joke in more ways than one, but on hindsight, more relevant to the OP than certain comments that we've seen lately.
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It's not so much 'protection'. I have to try to discern what makes sense, and what doesn't, in terms of member compatibility (among other things). And if a member causes some kind of disruption and un-ease - in whichever way that happens - and others pass comment, I have to evaluate the situation and try to establish the best result I can.
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I frankly don't really care to evaluate whether people are being honest or not, or whether what they say is believable, or not. That's not the issue here; that's a whole different ball-game.
YOUR problem, is that your method of communication is obtuse, obscure, enigmatic, puzzling, and frankly, at times, utterly meaningless.
Remember this is NEWbuddhist. A place for the exchange and transmission of information for novice members and those interested in the basic tenets of Buddhism, and a place for them to explore and investigate in a preliminary basic way.
You manner of communication does not tick those boxes and is off-putting.
Thanks for your response, in any case.
Thanks guys.
Today I had 'monkey body', bent over like a chimp from too much digging. The body, like life experiences is one of my richest sources of dharma. I say, 'this is the way to a better being' and the body has its own monkey mind agenda . . .
I am a Buddha trapped in a monkey
ah well aren't we all . . .
@Tosh, @Hamsaka and others describe the no drink rule for their chimp body. I feel we have physical needs, cravings, hormonal periods, anger arisings, fight or flight tiger responses, illnesses, wear and tear, etc. - we are apes. Well I am.
We also have karmic traps, culture, socialisation, indoctrination by region, religion and the good monkeying of our peers.
. . . however the community of friends, the cyber sangha can perspire us in circles . . . or as I feel you guys demonstrate. inspire greater commitment and effort to be a better person, which might be all a better Buddhist needs . . .
Many thanks {{{{ group hug }}}} - and if that felt weird, maybe it is . . .
Onward and upward. Back to cushion for monkey.
You must also consider @federica that there are buddhists here who have no time to practice full time but have been involved in the religion and wish to share deeper levels of knowledge and understanding, as well as a sangha, that is not necessarily found on other sites....
Yes, but it helps if, when they 'speak' they make themselves understood. Nobody likes pseudo-intellectual clever-speak. it's unnecessary. Buddhism in plain english works best here.
I've admitted before that anything BUT plain English is hard for me to plow through. It hampers my sutta study and made me fall asleep in Classic Lit. Thank gawd for Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Even so, I tend to respond positively to what I need to learn in spite of how it's written. Most of the time, 'flowery pseudo intellectual clever speak' outs itself and is just plain irritating in its demand for attention for the writer. With Lobster I 'get' what he's saying often enough that when I don't get it, I don't end up feeling resentful. Mind you I THINK I 'get' what he's saying
. I also THINK I understand what this thread has degenerated into, but I could be wrong there too.
Love, just love @DhammaDragon's list. But, for me, there's also an element of not taking myself too seriously. Terry Pratchett's monks who really "get" it spend most of their time sweeping the floor or gardening. So, as one who is more than happy to argue that black is white and still has doubts about whether there is any absolute "truth", am reminded of two things by earlier comments in this thread:
Wish I had a cushion to post! Perhaps this one ...