What are your doubts on Buddhism

last SG · 2006-10-13T00:07:47+00:00

Sitting meditation is just an aspect of Buddhism... and meditation isn't just sitting. In fact Buddhism isn't all about sitting meditation and chanting... th...

An Eternal Now SG

Haha i damn suay... almost typed finish then system crash, have to type all over again! But it's ok since I type very fast... hahaha

Anyway I'm going to reply two parts in one post because they are interrelated. And I have to be very careful especially when talking about Christianity Wink Because it can be quite political hehe... so anyway, what is being typed here may not reflect what Christians think about these issues, but what we think. Smile

So first of all you need to understand what learning and practising Buddhism means. It is about avoiding all evil deeds, doing all virtuous deeds and completely purifiying the mind. It is about enlightening the mind, to have a bright mental culture. All orthodox religions teach about "avoiding all evil deeds, doing all virtuous deeds", including Christianity, however, most religions do not teach about "liberation", "enlightenment", "purifying one's mind". These are what is unique in Buddhism. Purifying one's mind is important in Buddhism because the mind is the source of all good and bad, the source of all sufferings, and also that which makes us become trapped in Samsara.. and purifying the mind includes getting rid of Greed, Hatred, Ignorance, our fetters, and to eventually become freed from all sentient thoughts, and much more. "Avoiding all evil deeds, doing all virtuous deeds" is the basics of all religions and also Buddhism, i.e the Five Precepts and 10 virtuous deeds (http://www.jenchen.org.sg/vol7no4a.htm), however that does not ensure that one will attain enlightenment or become liberated. That is only to avoid bad karma and accumulate blessings. It will allow us to be reborn in the 3 higher realms in the next life, or even the Celestial/Heaven realm. However it does not mean we will become enlightened or liberated. Therefore only through practising Buddhism will we be able to become liberated from sufferings, from rebirth in the 6 realms of samsaric existences.

Jesus is an enlightened person, as I mentioned in other topics recently, my master (Master Shen Kai), and other famous masters like the Dalai Lama, Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh, and many more, commended that Jesus is a Bodhisattva. Meaning that he is a highly enlightened being on the path to Buddhahood. However, due to the conditions and the capacity of the people, Jesus could not teach higher truths that people would not understand.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/june11/15.64.html

....I reminded him of his belief that Jesus is "a fully enlightened being" and asked, "If Jesus is fully enlightened, wouldn't he be teaching the truth about himself? Therefore, if he is teaching the truth, then he is the Son of God, and there is a God, and Jesus is the Savior. If he is fully enlightened, he should teach the truth. If he is not teaching the truth, he is not that enlightened."

As the Dalai Lama felt the momentum of the question, he laughed more than at any other time in the interview. He obviously understood the argument, borrowed from C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity.

"This is a very good question," he said. "This is very, very important, very important." Even in Buddha's case, he said, a distinction must always be made between teachings that "always remain valid" and others that "we have the liberty to reject."

He argued that the Buddha knew people were not always ready for the higher truth because it "wouldn't suit, wouldn't help." Therefore, lesser truths are sometimes taught because of the person's ignorance or condition. This is known in Buddhist dharma as the doctrine of uppayah, or skillful means. The Dalai Lama then applied this to the question about Jesus.

"Jesus Christ also lived previous lives," he said. "So, you see, he reached a high state, either as a Bodhisattva, or an enlightened person, through Buddhist practice or something like that. Then, at a certain period, certain era, he appeared as a new master, and then because of circumstances, he taught certain views different from Buddhism, but he also taught the same religious values as I mentioned earlier: Be patient, tolerant, compassionate. This is, you see, the real message in order to become a better human being." He said that there was absolutely no lying involved since Jesus' motivation was to help people....

However Jesus did teach higher teachings to his disciples (i.e Apostles), however not many people understood his higher teachings and very often his teachings in the bible was being misinterpreted by those who do not understand and distorted as I have mentioned in the previous topic.

p.s fyi, my Buddhist Master was once an active pastor who wrote Christian books, and my local dharma teacher was also a devoted Christian.. as for my master, on the day he attained enlightenment at 12, he received divine signs telling him to bring bliss to humanity (see the second last post here: Curious - Any Christian-turned-Buddhist converts here?)

bladez87 SG

he was enlightened at 12? enlightened from what i still dont really understand. to get rid of the 7 caradial sins?

An Eternal Now SG

btw what is enlightenment? i dont get it. haha because i am dim i supposed. what am i supposed to be enlightened of?

Sorry I missed out this part.. enlightenment means realising the truth. It can be likened to turning on the switch and the whole room becomes lightened up, while prior to that it was completely dark. Therefore 6th Zen Patriarch Hui Neng said, Even as the light of a lamp can break up darkness which has been there for a thousand years, so a spark of Wisdom can do away with ignorance which has lasted for ages.

As one practises the dharma one will gain small realisations/insights along the path, perhaps the realisation that what we possess is impermanent and ungraspable, even to step into Buddhism and take refuge in the Three Treasures can be considered a 'small realisation'... with such 'small realisations' as we cultivate earnestly we will eventually attain 'da ce da wu', Great realisation. This 'great realisation' is beyond comprehension of our mind, it is directly seeing into our all-pervading Buddha Nature, original nature. Our Buddha Nature/Dharma Nature pervades the entire Dharmadhatu, the entire universe. Our Buddha Nature is always present, 'following' us wherever, every realm we become born in... even when we become reborn in Hell, our Buddha Nature is still there, present, although we just don't realise it. It is likened to a mirror that is covered with dust and we do not know that below the layer of dust is in fact a clear bright mirror. Even such analogy is not entirely accurate.. it is only an analogy... in truth there is no mirror, the mirror is empty. There are highly enlightened persons even in this forum who has directly seen for themselves our true nature. It is not a theoretical, conceptual understanding, but to directly SEE for ourselves our true nature is as it is.

Enlightenment is the realisation of the Ultimate Reality, Emptiness, Pure Awareness (i.e our Buddha Nature which is All-pervading - Buddha is called 'aware', 'awakened one').

bladez87 SG

thanks for your help. because lately i went to city harvest church. and i started thinking alot on religions. now i think i more or less get an idea of buddhism and christianity.

An Eternal Now SG

Just for sharing..

An Eternal Now SG

No prob.. Smile Your friends invited you there?

bladez87 SG

yup.

so i ask again. even as a christian, one can still be enlightened right?

An Eternal Now SG

Actually everyone, every sentient being in the universe will eventually become enlightened. But if you want to become enlightened it is important that you hear the teachings and practises that leads to liberation, enlightenment. As I have mentioned, Jesus taught many teachings out of skillful means that is the practise of virtuous qualities -

...He argued that the Buddha knew people were not always ready for the higher truth because it "wouldn't suit, wouldn't help." Therefore, lesser truths are sometimes taught because of the person's ignorance or condition. This is known in Buddhist dharma as the doctrine of uppayah, or skillful means. The Dalai Lama then applied this to the question about Jesus.

"Jesus Christ also lived previous lives," he said. "So, you see, he reached a high state, either as a Bodhisattva, or an enlightened person, through Buddhist practice or something like that. Then, at a certain period, certain era, he appeared as a new master, and then because of circumstances, he taught certain views different from Buddhism, but he also taught the same religious values as I mentioned earlier: Be patient, tolerant, compassionate. This is, you see, the real message in order to become a better human being." He said that there was absolutely no lying involved since Jesus' motivation was to help people....

According to Buddhism, by practising all these one will gain the blessings and ability in rebirth in virtuous realms. However to be totally liberated is not just a matter of practising these virtuous qualities. And the higher teachings of Jesus are often not taught, or misinterpreted, and as I mentioned, many of the teachings of Jesus are misinterpreted nowadays.

See the latest postings by me/longchen in: http://buddhism.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=215467&page=1

bladez87 SG

thanks

An Eternal Now SG

Just to clarify the part on purifying one's mind. Purifying one's mind is not just not thinking bad things, thinking good things, dont think impure thoughts.

Rather it is to be completely freed from sentient thoughts... it is to become freed from subject-object, it is 'no-self', 'no (sentient) thought'

http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/awakening101/shikantaza.html

.....C. WITHOUT THINKING (hishiryo): This is no-thought (munen; wu-nien) or no-mind (mushin; wu-hsin): pure immediacy in the fullness of things as they are.

1. About "not-thinking";: (1) noetic attitude: nonpositional (neither affirming nor negating); (2) noematic content: pure presence of things as they are (genjokoan).

a) Noetic attitude is nonpositional (neither affirming nor negating): Consciousness is no longer an intentional vector proceeding from a subject to an object but is, rather, an open dynamic field in which objects present themselves.

b) Noematic content: The object is no longer an object that is the target of an intentional act but is, rather, the object itself as it presents itself within the open dynamic field of consciousness.

c) Aspects of "without thinking":

(1) No subject-object distinction: The subject has disappearedthis being the Zen interpretation of Buddhist anatta or no-mind.

(2) Immediacy: Without a subject standing back, the experience is one of immediacy within the dynamic field of consciousness.

(3) Fullness: Because the object is not filtered through an intentional act, it presents itself in its fullness.

(4) Such immediacy and fullness are genjokoan, "pure presence of things as they are.".....

Herzog_Zwei SG

I have no memory of my past lives. I don't see why false memories cannot be implanted in terms of language and events.

Cenarious SG

Simply because you are not at that level yet.

An Eternal Now SG

clap clap clap

(just kidding, no offense herzog)

An Eternal Now SG

Don't get what you mean.

I mean, they didn't know anything about it before hand, but after remembering their past lives, they checked out and found that reality corresponds what they remember.

maggot SG

Should I seek those who know me in my past lives? Confused

Should I tell them who they were in past lives?

Cenarious SG

you can see your past life? what were you in your previous life?

maggot SG

A human. An Asian Very Happy

Cenarious SG

And?

maggot SG

No one will believe this so no point telling Mr. Green

SumOne SG

Hi again, I just wanted to confirm something. Do all Buddhists pray to their ancestors? Is praying to your ancestors a fundamental of true buddhism?

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