Buddhist network that actively promotes peace, culture and education.

[Gwynhuever]

why is it that when we try to say about Buddhism, it has to be long?...Nways, take ur time in reading, I'll just post one topic at a time...=)

bro...catholic man gud ko...so dili ko familiar kaayo sa tanan ninyo posts about buddhism but interested kaayo ko maong i really READ your posts...mag unsa man nang tag-as kaayo nya wala na diay gibasa diba...? defeats the purpose....so hinay2 lang...or one topic at a time aron medyo ma absorb....or basin ako lang ni nga opinion...don't let me hold you guys back....apas lang nya ko ....slowpoke man gud ko bro

[d_guy1024]

Buddhism & Hinduism, are they related?

Both Hinduism and Buddhism emphasize the mystic nature of the world and the role of karma in keeping men bound to this world and the cycle of births and deaths.

Both religions believe in the concept of karma, transmigration of souls and the cycle of births and deaths for each soul.

Both emphasize compassion and non violence towards all living beings.

On the other hand,

Buddhism does not believe in the existence of souls as well in the first cause, whom others generally call God. Hinduism believe in the existence of Atman , that is the individual soul and Brahman, the Supreme Creator.

[brian_d]

Buddhism & Hinduism, are they related?

Both religions are born in India. They share similar concept, specially karma and reincarnation/rebirth.

However Hinduism believes in transmigration. Meaning when one dies, the soul remains and just gets reborn into another living entity. Could another human being or as an animal.

That's not how it works in Buddhism, since they don't believe in the existence of a soul. What is left is the conciousness which gets transfered to newly born beings.

Hinduism also believes in gods or supreme beings a belief which is absent in Buddhism.

[brian_d]

» Buddhist Studies » Basic Buddhism Guide » 5 Minute Introduction






• What is Buddhism?

Buddhism is a religion to about 300 million people around the world. The word comes from 'budhi', 'to awaken'. It has its origins about 2,500 years ago when Siddhartha Gotama, known as the Buddha, was himself awakened (enlightened) at the age of 35.

• Is Buddhism a Religion?

To many, Buddhism goes beyond religion and is more of a philosophy or 'way of life'. It is a philosophy because philosophy 'means love of wisdom' and the Buddhist path can be summed up as:

(1) to lead a moral life,
(2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, and
(3) to develop wisdom and understanding.

• How Can Buddhism Help Me?

Buddhism explains a purpose to life, it explains apparent injustice and inequality around the world, and it provides a code of practice or way of life that leads to true happiness.

• Why is Buddhism Becoming Popular?

Buddhism is becoming popular in western countries for a number of reasons, The first good reason is Buddhism has answers to many of the problems in modern materialistic societies. It also includes (for those who are interested) a deep understanding of the human mind (and natural therapies) which prominent psychologists around the world are now discovering to be both very advanced and effective.

• Who Was the Buddha?

Siddhartha Gotama was born into a royal family in Lumbini, now located in Nepal, in 563 BC. At 29, he realised that wealth and luxury did not guarantee happiness, so he explored the different teachings religions and philosophies of the day, to find the key to human happiness. After six years of study and meditation he finally found 'the middle path' and was enlightened. After enlightenment, the Buddha spent the rest of his life teaching the principles of Buddhism — called the Dhamma, or Truth — until his death at the age of 80.

• Was the Buddha a God?

He was not, nor did he claim to be. He was a man who taught a path to enlightenment from his own experience.

• Do Buddhists Worship Idols?

Buddhists sometimes pay respect to images of the Buddha, not in worship, nor to ask for favours. A statue of the Buddha with hands rested gently in its lap and a compassionate smile reminds us to strive to develop peace and love within ourselves. Bowing to the statue is an expression of gratitude for the teaching.

• Why are so Many Buddhist Countries Poor?

One of the Buddhist teachings is that wealth does not guarantee happiness and also wealth is impermanent. The people of every country suffer whether rich or poor, but those who understand Buddhist teachings can find true happiness.

• Are There Different Types of Buddhism?

There are many different types of Buddhism, because the emphasis changes from country to country due to customs and culture. What does not vary is the essence of the teaching — the Dhamma or truth.

• Are Other Religions Wrong?

Buddhism is also a belief system which is tolerant of all other beliefs or religions. Buddhism agrees with the moral teachings of other religions but Buddhism goes further by providing a long term purpose within our existence, through wisdom and true understanding. Real Buddhism is very tolerant and not concerned with labels like 'Christian', 'Moslem', 'Hindu' or 'Buddhist'; that is why there have never been any wars fought in the name of Buddhism. That is why Buddhists do not preach and try to convert, only explain if an explanation is sought.

• Is Buddhism Scientific?

Science is knowledge which can be made into a system, which depends upon seeing and testing facts and stating general natural laws. The core of Buddhism fit into this definition, because the Four Noble truths (see below) can be tested and proven by anyone in fact the Buddha himself asked his followers to test the teaching rather than accept his word as true. Buddhism depends more on understanding than faith.

• What did the Buddha Teach?

The Buddha taught many things, but the basic concepts in Buddhism can be summed up by the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.

• What is the First Noble Truth?

The first truth is that life is suffering i.e., life includes pain, getting old, disease, and ultimately death. We also endure psychological suffering like loneliness frustration, fear, embarrassment, disappointment and anger. This is an irrefutable fact that cannot be denied. It is realistic rather than pessimistic because pessimism is expecting things to be bad. lnstead, Buddhism explains how suffering can be avoided and how we can be truly happy.

• What is the Second Noble Truth?

The second truth is that suffering is caused by craving and aversion. We will suffer if we expect other people to conform to our expectation, if we want others to like us, if we do not get something we want,etc. In other words, getting what you want does not guarantee happiness. Rather than constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting. Wanting deprives us of contentment and happiness. A lifetime of wanting and craving and especially the craving to continue to exist, creates a powerful energy which causes the individual to be born. So craving leads to physical suffering because it causes us to be reborn.

• What is the Third Noble Truth?

The third truth is that suffering can be overcome and happiness can be attained; that true happiness and contentment are possible. lf we give up useless craving and learn to live each day at a time (not dwelling in the past or the imagined future) then we can become happy and free. We then have more time and energy to help others. This is Nirvana.

• What is the Fourth Noble Truth?

The fourth truth is that the Noble 8-fold Path is the path which leads to the end of suffering.

• What is the Noble 8-Fold Path?

In summary, the Noble 8-fold Path is being moral (through what we say, do and our livelihood), focussing the mind on being fully aware of our thoughts and actions, and developing wisdom by understanding the Four Noble Truths and by developing compassion for others.

• What are the 5 Precepts?

The moral code within Buddhism is the precepts, of which the main five are: not to take the life of anything living, not to take anything not freely given, to abstain from sexual misconduct and sensual overindulgence, to refrain from untrue speech, and to avoid intoxication, that is, losing mindfulness.

• What is Karma?

Karma is the law that every cause has an effect, i.e., our actions have results. This simple law explains a number of things: inequality in the world, why some are born handicapped and some gifted, why some live only a short life. Karma underlines the importance of all individuals being responsible for their past and present actions. How can we test the karmic effect of our actions? The answer is summed up by looking at (1) the intention behind the action, (2) effects of the action on oneself, and (3) the effects on others.

• What is Wisdom?

Buddhism teaches that wisdom should be developed with compassion. At one extreme, you could be a goodhearted fool and at the other extreme, you could attain knowledge without any emotion. Buddhism uses the middle path to develop both. The highest wisdom is seeing that in reality, all phenomena are incomplete, impermanent and do no constitute a fixed entity. True wisdom is not simply believing what we are told but instead experiencing and understanding truth and reality. Wisdom requires an open, objective, unbigoted mind. The Buddhist path requires courage, patience, flexibility and intelligence.

• What is Compassion?

Compassion includes qualities of sharing, readiness to give comfort, sympathy, concern, caring. In Buddhism, we can really understand others, when we can really understand ourselves, through wisdom.

• How do I Become a Buddhist?

Buddhist teachings can be understood and tested by anyone. Buddhism teaches that the solutions to our problems are within ourselves not outside. The Buddha asked all his followers not to take his word as true, but rather to test the teachings for themselves. ln this way, each person decides for themselves and takes responsibility for their own actions and understanding. This makes Buddhism less of a fixed package of beliefs which is to be accepted in its entirety, and more of a teaching which each person learns and uses in their own way.

Prepared by Brian White 1993, with thanks to Ven S. Dhammika.






Copyright © 2005 - BDEA / BuddhaNet. All rights reserved.

[d_guy1024]

Buddhism & Hinduism, are they related?

Both religions are born in India. They share similar concept, specially karma and reincarnation/rebirth.

However Hinduism believes in transmigration. Meaning when one dies, the soul remains and just gets reborn into another living entity. Could another human being or as an animal.

That's not how it works in Buddhism, since they don't believe in the existence of a soul. What is left is the conciousness which gets transfered to newly born beings.

Hinduism also believes in gods or supreme beings a belief which is absent in Buddhism.

I agree.

[d_guy1024]

Desires and Enlightenment


People encountering Nichiren Buddhism for the first time are often surprised by the stance taken toward desire which seems to contradict prevailing images of Buddhism. For many, Buddhism is associated with asceticism, and indeed there are many schools and traditions which stress the need to eliminate desire and sever all attachments.

Needless to say, a life controlled by desires is miserable. In Buddhist scriptures, such a way of life is symbolized by "hungry demons" with giant heads and huge mouths, but narrow, constricted throats that make real satisfaction unattainable. The deliberate horror of these images grew from Shakyamuni Buddha's sense of the need to shock people from their attachment to things--including our physical existence--that will eventually change and be lost to us. Real happiness does not lie here, he sought to tell them.

The deeply ingrained tendencies of attachments and desire (in Japanese bonno) are often referred to by the English translation "earthly desires." However, since they also include hatred, arrogance, distrust and fear, the translation "deluded impulses" may in some cases be more appropriate.

But can such desires and attachments really be eliminated? Attachments are, after all, natural human feelings, and desires are a vital and necessary aspect of life. The desire, for example, to protect oneself and one's loved ones has been the inspiration for a wide range of advances-from the creation of supportive social groupings to the development of housing and heating. Likewise, the desire to understand humanity's place in the cosmos has driven the development of philosophy, literature and religious thought. Desires are integral to who we are and who we seek to become.

In this sense, the elimination of all desire is neither possible nor, in fact, desirable. Were we to completely rid ourselves of desire, we would end up undermining our individual and collective will to live.

The teachings of Nichiren thus stress the transformation, rather than the elimination, of desire. Desires and attachments are seen as fueling the quest for enlightenment. As he is recorded as teaching: "Now Nichiren and others who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo . . . burn the firewood of earthly desires and behold the fire of enlightened wisdom. . . ."

In the same vein, the Universal Worthy Sutra states: "Even without extinguishing their earthly desires or denying the five desires, they can purify all of their senses and eradicate all of their misdeeds."

Nichiren's approach has the effect of popularizing, humanizing and democratizing Buddhism. In other words, by making the aspirations, dreams and frustrations of daily life the "fuel" for the process of enlightenment, Nichiren opens the path of Buddhist practice to those who had traditionally been excluded by the demands of a meditative withdrawal from the world, those, for example, who wish to continue playing an active role in the world.

It is thus not a coincidence that this attitude toward desires should be central to the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism, with its emphasis on the role of lay practitioners. For people living in the midst of ever-changing, stressful realities, those challenges are a far more effective spur to committed Buddhist practice than an abstract goal of "enlightenment" through severing of all desires and attachments.

Overcoming problems, realizing long-cherished goals and dreams--this is the stuff of daily life from which we derive our sense of accomplishment and happiness. SGI President Ikeda has emphasized the importance not of severing our attachments, but of understanding and, ultimately, using them.

Often the faith experiences of SGI members describe events and changes that seem at first glance to be focused on the external, material side of life. But such "benefits" are only part of the story. Buddhism divides the benefits of practice into the "conspicuous" and the "inconspicuous." The new job, the conquest of illness, the successful marriage and so on are not separate from a deep, often painstaking process of self-reflection and inner-driven transformation. And the degree of motivation generated by desires can lend an intensity to our practice which ultimately reaps spiritual rewards. Bonno soku bodai--literally, "Earthly desires are enlightenment"--is a key tenet of Nichiren Buddhism. Through our Buddhist practice, even the most mundane, deluded impulse can be transformed into something broader and more noble, and our desires quite naturally develop from self-focused ones to broader ones concerning our families, friends, communities and, ultimately, the whole world.

In this way, the nature of desire is steadily transformed--from material and physical desires to the more spiritually oriented desire to live the most fulfilling kind of life.

As SGI President Ikeda says: "I believe in the existence of another kind of human desire: I call it the basic desire, and I believe that it is the force that actively propels all other human desires in the direction of creativity. It is the source of all impelling energy inherent in life; it is also the longing to unite one's life with the life of the universe and to draw vital energy from the universe."

[d_guy1024]

By recognizing that earthly desires and delusions are enlightenment and that the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana, no matter how unpleasant the circumstances we find ourselves in, we can transform them into hope and good fortune-into eternal happiness. How incredible this is!

[d_guy1024]

I would like to share Jung's thoughts which resemble to that of Buddhism:

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

More about Jung's vision: http://oaks.nvg.org/eg4ra6.html

[d_guy1024]

In general, Buddhism is viewed as a static religion, epitomized by the image of a meditating or sitting Buddha, but the true image is one of a dynamic, walking Buddhist, an active Buddhist. The true Buddhist is a stranger to rest, continuously taking action to lead people to happiness and make them free.
-Daisaku Ikeda

[d_guy1024]

Selection Source: The suggested material below is again excerpted
from SGI President Ikeda's lecture series, Lectures on `The Opening
of the Eyes,' installment 17, published in the March/April, 2006
issue of Living Buddhism, pages 85 and 89.

Genuine Buddhism does not promote a Utopia existing in some
imaginary realm. On the contrary, it is a philosophy that seeks to
enable us to transform reality and live an ideal life right here in
this troubled saha world. It seeks to empower us, to help us develop
the spiritual strength and inner fortitude with which to overcome
all storms as we struggle amid the reality of our daily lives.

The essence of Buddhism, in a sense, is not to seek the placid
existence of a still pond but to establish a towering state of
happiness that not even the stormiest seas can destroy. Though we
might wish for a humble happiness where nothing untoward ever
occurs, it is impossible to avoid being buffeted by life's winds and
waves when storms howl. Indeed, it is only by bringing forth our
inherent strength to make our way dauntlessly through the maelstrom
of fundamental darkness and karma that we can secure true happiness.

In that respect, happiness is found only amid struggle.
Building genuine happiness for oneself and others necessarily
entails battling erroneous thinking and mistaken beliefs that lead
people to misery. This is what the practice of shakubuku is all
about.

In response to the criticism that shakubuku involves "a contentious
heart" and leads to one falling into "the realm of asuras," Nichiren
explains that shakubuku is an expression of compassion and the will
to fight evil. This in turn is the spirit of the Buddha. Therefore,
shakubuku is a practice at one with the Buddha's heart and intent,
and represents the way of bodhisattva practice for the Latter Day of
the Law.

To conduct shakubuku is to carry out the Buddha's practice of
compassion—to remove suffering and impart joy. Above all, shakubuku
is founded on a profound and embracing respect for all people.
Consequently, our efforts in this sphere will not be successful
unless we have deep respect for those we seek to guide toward the
correct teaching, as all of us who have earnestly undertaken this
challenge keenly recognize.

In view of this, shakubuku is definitely not motivated by
a "contentious heart" or other aggressive, negative emotions.
Because of this, it is not in any way exclusivist or self-righteous.
The heart of shakubuku is compassion; it is also the spirit to
refute error because of the suffering it causes—a spirit that
transforms our compassion into the courage to fight against that,
which is, wrong.