Why are Buddhists so selfish?

last SG · 2006-07-09T15:47:54+00:00

Buddhism, in all, is about the Universe. Due to this Universal attitude to all things, Buddhism also respects all other religions; even acknowledging the fou...

SocialOutcast SG

Why is it that you guys think you know the answer to life's suffering, yet so little of you Buddhists have preached to us if you have the answer?

So many people are suffering now, yet so little people know about Buddhism.

Why you so selfish don't tell us??

maggot SG

+1 before close and ban Laughing

laurence82 SG

Firstly, since the time of Buddha, there were already missionaries

They dont appear suddenly in China, Japan and Thailand right?

Secondly, they do preach, but not in the form you would have wanted.

Arbor, if Buddhists got a bit more aggressive, then people complain hard-selling, as what happened to Christians

There is no pleasing people

An Eternal Now SG

Actually there are a lot of dharma centres out there that are teaching the dharma. So how come you say so few Buddhist preaching..?

neutral_onliner SG

Buddhism is a major world religion that arose from the inspiration and teachings of Buddha. Buddhism can be best summarised by the words of Buddha himself:

Learn to do good,

Cease to do harm,

Control the mind,

And benefit others.

Buddhism teaches us how to overcome our problems and difficulties by understanding and preventing their causes. Whereas we usually look to outward circumstances for the causes of our problems, Buddhism teaches us to look inwards. Buddha showed how our feelings of dissatisfaction arise from negative states of mind - primarily anger, attachment, and ignorance - and offered methods to eliminate these by developing generosity, compassion, wisdom and other positive states of mind.

Buddhism teaches people that the real source of happiness is inner peace. If our mind is peaceful, we shall be happy all the time, regardless of external conditions, but if it is disturbed or troubled in any way, we shall never be happy, no matter how good our external conditions may be. External conditions can only make us happy if our mind is peaceful. We can understand this through our own experience. For instance, even if we are in the most beautiful surroundings and have everything we need, the moment we get angry any happiness we may have disappears. This is because anger has destroyed our inner peace.

We can see from this that if we want true, lasting happiness we need to develop and maintain a special experience of inner peace. The only way we can do this is by training our mind through spiritual practice - gradually reducing and eliminating our negative, disturbed states of mind and replacing them with positive, peaceful states.

Originally posted by SocialOutcast:
So many people are suffering now, yet so little people know about Buddhism.[/b]

As singapore is considered a young country buddhism is still very new to singapore and it has only become a trend in recent years

http://www.yayapapayaz.com/comm/20050520_st_buddhism.htm

Why you so selfish don't tell us??

Wat do u think we r doing here. Cool

Btw Buddhas main purpose in teaching people how they could achieve inner peace was so that they could then go on to share that experience with others. Buddhism teaches that this is the most effective way in which it is possible for them to benefit others.

Buddhists understand that without inner peace outer peace is impossible. We all wish for world peace, but world peace will never be achieved unless people first establish peace within their own minds. Only by creating peace within our own mind and helping others to do the same can we hope to achieve peace in this world.

Iker-X-of-Bodh SG

i would agree to a bit of wad the starter of this thread. Many Buddhists I know concentrate too much on their own cultivation that they forgot to reach out. I wont say theya re selfish, but rather 'unmindful' of the need to reach out to people. Cos from personal experiences, they are some of the sweetest and most wonderful people! But unfortunately, a little bit boring.

Dhamma groups in SG are opening out and doing more reaching out to nominal and non-Buddhists. However, we do it in a peaceful way. So do not generalise by saying 'ALL Buddhists are SELFISH'. That is a real sweeping statement and in fact you will learn more of this essay technique in GP. But I digress.

I would agree that in SG, many people do not know much about the real principals of Buddhism,, often mixing it with Taoism and other CHinese shamanistic practices. But things are changing.

I see more and more young people coming to embrace the Buddha's teachings. Just look at the crowd each time Ajahn Brahm comes for a talk in SG! Wow! I didn't know so much youing people can be interested in the Dhamma.

While in SG, we are still in the infnacy stage. Dhamma propagation in Western countires are at its best. It is a fact that Buddhism is Australia's fasterst growing religion and many people in America and Europe are embracing this faith. Just look at the number of Dhamma centres each Western country has, how could you say Buddhist are 'selfish'?

But you raised a good point to many of us. There is a need to share the Dhamma in modern ways and very tactfully. But lets not be too agreesive. We use wisdom and compassion. Smile

neutral_onliner SG

well i think generally asian buddhists may be a little bit boring but not so for western buddhists Cool

Ito_^ SG

buddhists like to tok with same minded people.

neutral_onliner SG

sorri... what do u mean by tat Question

An Eternal Now SG

True buddhists show Buddhadharma through their actions, and answer ppl when they are interested.... but we do not stuff them with evangelism.

coolbluewater SG

Well, that's generalising Buddhists. No doubt, there are Buddhists who likes to do that, but many aren't just mixing around with fellow Dharma Brothers, or like you've said, same minded people. Many of my friends aren't Buddhists, and even have different faith as I am, but we got along very well. I believe there are many others out there who are like me.

I would like to remind you that we are living in a multi racial society on this small island that we called home. Hence making a defamatory statement like yours will only exhibit show your low level of maturity.

la lapine blanche SG

I think it is good that Buddhists don't "reach out" too much in the sense of evangelizing ... Information about Buddhism is very easily and widely available in books, on the internet, etc. to anyone who does even a few moments of searching, and it is perhaps better to wait until people come to you rather than coming to them before they are ready.

One of the first things that drew me to Buddhism was precisely the fact that I had found them, not they me. Also there was no intention on their part whatsoever to convert me, convince me, or encourage me to come back again. I felt very free to choose.

Troy437 SG

Maybe you are not worth saving...so not one wan to tell you Laughing

Isis SG

some people do not accept our answer to life's suffering and either do we forced or hard sell them to believe. We respect people who do not believe in buddhism and this is especially so in singapore a multi-racial and religious country where tolerance is based on having respect for human's freedom of belief.

Regardless "many people are suffering, yet so little people know about buddhism "

I could like to add : Without suffering, we do not know liberation from suffering. Without sadness, we do not know what is happiness. Vice versa.The four noble truth is based on 'suffering'. Without tasting or understanding suffering from experience, man could not truly understand tha pains of suffering or be convinced of the validity of the four noble truth.

In addition, even if we preach the truth, people may not have the wisdom to comprehend yet. It also depends on their affinity with buddhism. The preacher of the truth has to be high in cultivation and ne enlightened to teach the right understanding and view of the teachings which can be so profound at time.

Isis SG

The layman Vimalakirti said, "Because the world is sick, I am sick. Because people suffer, I have to suffer." This statement was also made by the Buddha. Please don't think that because you are unhappy, because there is pain in your heart, that you cannot go to the Buddha. It is exactly because there is pain in your heart that communication is possible. Your suffering and my suffering are the basic condition for us to enter the Buddha's heart, and for the Buddha to enter our hearts.

For forty-five years, the Buddha said, over and over again, "I teach only suffering and the transformation of suffering." When we recognize and acknowledge our own suffering, the Buddha - which means the Buddha in us - will look at it, discover what has brought it about, and prescribe a course of action that can transform it into peace, joy, and liberation. Suffering is the means the Buddha used to liberate himself, and it is also the means by which we can become free.

The ocean of suffering is immense, but if you turn around, you can see the land. The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.
When one tree in the garden is sick, you have to care for it. But don't overlook all the healthy trees. Even while you have pain in your heart, you can enjoy the many wonders of life - the beautiful sunset, the smile of a child, the many flowers and trees. To suffer is not enough. Please don't be imprisoned by your suffering. If you have experienced hunger, you know that having food is a miracle. If you have suffered from the cold, you know the preciousness of warmth. When you have suffered, you know how to appreciate the elements of paradise that are present.
If you dwell only in your suffering, you will miss paradise. Don't ignore your suffering, but don't forget to enjoy the wonders of life, for your sake and for the benefit of many beings.

- By Thich Nhat

Some interesting Quotes, meaningful and wise. hope it helps to lighten some burden of sufferings. Orginally posted by Paperflower in the forum.

neutral_onliner SG

The Buddha says:

I am giving this advice according to my own experience, not as a concept, theory or message given to me through divine inspiration. I remember how I had to suffer during my previous lives for committing bad deeds. I also can remember how I lived very fortunate and peaceful lives due to certain good deeds that I had done for the well being of others. That is why I am giving you this advice.

SocialOutcast SG

Ya, and I only found some answers here because I happened to live in Singapore with advanced technology. I also happened to be rich enough to afford Internet so I met you guys. Without these, i will continue to think that buddhists worship clay. Is that what you want for other people, to DENY them that choice to alleviate their suffering?

But what about those who live in ulu areas, with no technological access to buddhism at all? Singapore got send any missionaries? Forget about missionaries...what are common ordinary buddhist folks been doing all this while?

Why you so selfish don't tell us???

SocialOutcast SG

See....you wait for people to search themselves? There are so many religions in this world. What if I spend most of my time researching Bahai Faith, Islam, Christianity, Taoism, Hinduism, Sikhism....and before I find Buddhism, I DIE ALREADY??

HOW?? You wait for people to die izzit?? And meanwhile many many people are dying because of suffering. You telling me you let them suffer until one day they find out buddhism (if they do)???

Why you so slefish dont tell us?? If one day an alien tell you that he's going to bomb the whole earth in 24 hours, you going to keep this to yourself and L:ET ALL OF US DIE???

laurence82 SG

Laughing

http://www.sgforums.com/?action=search&search_str=SocialOutcast

SocialOutcast SG

Thank you guys for typing so much about Buddhism here. But that is not what I wanted. I don't want to know the WHAT. I want to know the WHY. Why buddhists don't preach. And by typing here you are demonstrating my point....that I won't know much about buddhism if I don't ocme online.

So why why why???