Birth Dates Never Clash Negatively with those of 'Buddhist G

last SG · 2006-03-15T16:31:37+00:00

Its sad that people in this postmodern era are so superstitious and ignorant, in spite of modern science and technologies are improving all the time, the qua...

dragon_stone SG

not really, i am very fascinated with fengshui, buddhism and taoism.

cannot really follow fully on practising the religions as these would entails severing with the mundane world, haha...

we still needs money to take care of our needs and family...

marcteng SG

So whats your religion now?

Yes, we need money to survive in society, no doubt abt that, but if you are thinking of ending sufferings or existences, you need to go beyond than money, fame, self and fortune, life and even death.

marcteng SG

Originally posted by dragon_stone:

cannot really follow fully on practising the religions as these would entails severing with the mundane world, haha...

we still needs money to take care of our needs and family...[/b]

You can still practise the dhamma as a lay follower.

Follow the 5 precepts faithfully, and practise what the buddha has taught, like loving kindness, compassion, tolerance and curbing anger will benefit you tremendously.

An Eternal Now SG

Buddhism doesnt ask you to severe from the mundane world (but severing fetters, sufferings, attachments, yes).

And as said by marc, renouncing mundane life only applies to renunciants like monks and nuns.

Cultivation and practise is totally relevant to our every day lives if you know what the Buddhist teachings teach. Therefore it is important to learn about the Buddhist teachings and find a Buddhist teacher to guide you. Chanting and meditation is just a small part of Buddhism, and is one out of 84000 dharma doors. Cultivating in the midst of our living is most important.

But you must understand that the modern day taoism (i.e mediumship, deities, etc) is really different from buddhism. But the more ancient taoist teachings, i.e Tao te ching is still relevant and v close to buddhism.

choco B SG

Personally I find this letter by the Ven. insensitive and kind of out of line.

I acknowledge that the uncle's practice and opinion is not according to the correct Buddhist teachings.

However in this context the article was quoting the uncle ; it was his own perspective of his beliefs. He doesn't represent any authority or the official stance of the religion. I don't think anyone reading the article would take his word to be the absolute truth either.

For a letter to be issued to correct a man's beliefs at a time of loss is somewhat insensitive and distasteful IMO.

dragon_stone SG

Finally, I could concur with one forumnite the closeness of the ancient Taoist and the Buddhism. I believe that both of these teachings centred on family and human values.

marcteng SG

It is due to ignorances, that feng shui, tarot reading, palmistry, fortune telling and other kinds of arts and practises were developed in the ancient past to explain the natural phenomenon and other occurences.

To hear the dhamma as a human being is very difficult, to meet the buddha personally is even more difficult, as rare is the appearance of the Buddha.
But the dhamma propagated behind by the buddha is a blessing to mankind.

An Eternal Now SG

Not only me. My Buddhist master have read the Tao Te Ching and said that Lao Tzu was a highly enlightened person, one who achieved Pratyekabuddhahood. Not only my buddhist master, but many of my other high realised buddhist friends also liked many taoist teachings. Smile This shows that Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, their core doctrines does not really contradict each other.

Check: looking for the Tao article post

I believe that both of these teachings centred on family and human values.

Actually something I feel is... the original and ancient Taoist teachings is more towards the 'Chu1 Shi4 Jian1 Fa3', or supramundane dharma. In this aspect Buddhism is definitely close to Taoist teachings by Lao Tzu, but in terms of mundane dharma I think Taoist teachings does not has as much as say.. Confucianism or Buddhism.

http://www.jenchen.org.sg/vol4no4d.htm

2. Which religions do the teachings of Confucius and Mencius belong to?

The teachings of Confucius and Mencius are within the boundary of the laws of this secular world and are not considered to be religious. They constitute a form of academic ideology. Confucius and Mencius dealt with the laws of this secular world. Taoism deals with the laws that are beyond this secular world. Buddhism deals with the laws that are both within and beyond this secular world.

An Eternal Now SG

Yes, this is also important. We should also not become superstitious on such things.

dragon_stone SG

tks for the links, it would definitely helps me to attain another level of understanding towards these two teachings. It is human quest for more knowledge and I found some in this forum.

I came across "Metta Sutra". Can anyone tell me the translation in chinese?
Went a few temples to look for the books but could not find any.

For other branches of studies, my fascinations will ends when too much superstitious overcome the basic understanding and practice.

marcteng SG

If you are interested In Buddhism, start from basic first, you can read about the life of the Buddha first, Dhammapada and the sutras expounded by the Buddha.

Attend Sunday morning classes if you have the time on Buddhism at most of the major temples in Singapore.

An Eternal Now SG

Good suggestion, marc.

Sorry, dragon stone, i'm not too sure about metta sutra in Chinese.. because metta sutra is probably less popular in the Chinese canon. There probably is a Chinese translation, but not sure where i can find it online too. Maybe someone here can you better.

dragon_stone SG

Metta Sutra is about compassion. I seen threads on Diamond sutras but not this sutra. The sutra is in pali which I am still discussing with my other buddhist colleagues from Myanmar.

An Eternal Now SG

To be precise: Metta is Loving Kindness
Karuna is Compassion.

And yes ... Metta Sutra is a pali scripture. But actually all Pali scriptures can also be found on its Chinese counterpart, the Chinese canon. Unfortunately I do not know where I can find it..

And there is a thread on Metta Sutra, but it is about half a year back: The Sutra of Loving Kindness (Metta)

dragon_stone SG

yes, loving kindness. I had it download to my hp last year. Its help to calm my mind when play back during travelling to far away places.

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