Modern Buddhist Living in the 21st century

bohiruci SG

Buddhism is not a religion but a way of life looking at things

Like as mention in the Diamond Sutra

"the past mind is ungrasppable , the present mind is ungrasppable and the future mind is ungrasppable"

well

it means the do not hold to the past , slack at the present and wild hope for the future

As singapore is a high developed countries , where we have everybody the equal opportunities not compared to countries like laos and cambodia ,
we should cherish this opportunities to make good our life and benefits others

sinweiy SG

i think, my Master Chin Kung's Teacher Li Bin Nan, said that this world is degenerating, and not even Buddha/bodhisattvas were to come can help. Lesser and lesser young people talk of Dao De(righteousness) anymore. Due to globalization, and stressing on ming zu(democracy) self right, People become more and more selfish. People now also want fast and invent things that are convenient, which promote people's laziness. Material comfort increase, mental Stress also increase. Like more you have the more you afraid you lose it. Even Bible said, it's heaven/god that favor the poor.

xia shi suo fa ru heng he sa (evil teachings like sands of river)

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bohiruci SG

i do agree with u sinweiy

sometimes i just see distraction is too much Smile

but technology has its good and bad point

we can contain 1 complete sets of huayen jing in one dvd
but the point is not much ppl would want to read it Wink

i feel that a modern Buddhist should also harness present technology in the sharing of dharma

while basic fundamentals like precepts and practice must never stop

sinweiy SG

..and not to mention the increase in abortion and divorce rate. especially the increase in sa1, dao4, ying2, wang4. killing(meat inductry), stealing (media), sexual misconduct (media), telling lies(media) .
MCK communicated with the ghost realm, they said the bad deeds that they did in the past is less than people that are doing now by a few times! They are coming up that mean rebirth back to human realms(which could explain the increase in population) while people are to replace their positions! Surprised

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An Eternal Now SG

Quite often Buddhism is seen as a religion of constantly meditation and chanting all day. Although they are important practise they should not be seen as what Buddhism is all about. Buddhist teachings is to be lived in everyday life, practise and cultivation is within our daily lives.

Modern living is probably more hectic that the past... many of us are so busy that we even lack time to sleep. It may not be feasible to spend a long time in sitting meditation/chanting/etc. However true Buddhist practise does not take time, whenever it is... wherever we are, we can practise the dharma. That is probably 'Modern Buddhist Living'.

In the early days after Buddha's enlightenment it was already taught that the 8 fold-path cultivation leads to enlightenment:

Good Conduct
Buddhist ethics is not a rigid moral code. Nor are they about making judgements and arousing guilt. Rather, Buddhists try to be aware of a particular failing and resolves to do better, striving diligently to live up to Good Conduct.

Right Speech is about not telling lies, avoiding harsh speech, slandering and back-biting. Generally it is about not using our speech faculties in harmful and unproductive ways.

Right Action deals with our behaviour. To live a life where our actions are conducive to the happiness of ourselves and those around us. A lay person may, as part of their commitment to the Buddha's Way,observe the Five Precepts.

Right Livelihood. A good Buddhist does not compromises his integrity by becoming involved in any activities that harm other people, animals or the environment.

Mental Development
Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration bring us fully into the heart of meditation. Meditation is a gradual process of training the Mind to focus on a single object and to remain fixed upon that object without wavering. Constant practice of meditation helps us to develop a calm and concentrated mind. It is important to note that one needs a qualified teacher to guide one when one begins meditation.

Right Effort is required if we are to advance steadily on the spiritual path. It is important to note that spending too much energy, like using too little energy, can also be counter-productive.

Wisdom
Right Understanding refers to the need to understand, both in theory and practice, the Buddha's teachings, testing them against our experiences. Only then can sound faith and confidence arise.

Right Thought is that which motivates our practice- the right reasons. Practice is not for acquiring greater power or wealth, but to advance on the Buddha's path towards Enlightenment and True Happiness for one and all.

-----------------

On a deeper level...

To cultivate our actions is not as good as to cultivate the body,
To cultivate the body is not as good as to cultivate the mind,
To cultivate the mind is not as good as not having arising of the mind.

An Eternal Now SG

What is cultivation? Where do we practise cultivation? Let me tell you a story: More than twenty years ago, I took four years to cultivate as I travelled across the country. Step by step, I covered Taiwan by walking. Once when I was in Hua-Lian, an elderly Buddhist asked me, "Master! A monk should reside in the temple to meditate, pray and chant sutras, but when you travel about what are you cultivating? I replied, "Thats right! I am cultivating. Sakyamuni Buddha teaches us to cultivate our conduct. He does not encourage us to cultivate sitting down! In the past few years I had been practising sitting meditation, now I wish to travel about. While walking and also amidst all my other activities, I do not commit evil deeds, I chant the names of the Buddhas, I praise and commend others, I tell people about the Dharma, I avoid the places of vice, this is the way I cultivate."

Thus, to cultivate means cultivating in the midst of our activities. This is a point that many people do not understand. They think that cultivation will result in a society that is pessimistic and low-spirited. This is a mistake.

bohiruci SG

okie ,yes we need to cultivate , but sadly alot of us can only stick to a simple practice a day

working adult have commitment ,when ur boss wants u to do overtime , u cannot said

Oh ,times up , i going home to meditate !"

see ?

that is not abt slacking in practice , i starting this thread talk abt our modern living ,not so much religious atmosphere

it is to share ,be moderate to put words of authoritative text lor .

yes weekend can post on forum lah , well thats consider modern buddhist

last time does Buddha have email address or mobile phone ?

sorrie for the weird ideas , but just want to say forums thread are part of everyone's daily life Smile in sgforums member only Smile

LinYu SG

Buddhism is about the middle way.
Therefore if there is RIGHT and then will be WRONG. Both are extreme. The Eight Fold Path should be

Perfect Thought
Perfect Speech
Perfect Action
Perfect Livelihood
Perfect Understanding
Perfect Effort
Perfect Mindfulness
Perfect Concentration
Smile

bohiruci SG

wah ,good linyu

well ,can we proceed on Smile

maybe lets say u working and suddenly u have a change of superior from a nice boss

to someone that is difficult , thats makes ur life hard to goes by Smile

how u tackle that ?

LinYu SG

Well I couldn't quite comprehend what the above is saying but the chinese version explain best of Perfect Mindfulness (zhen nian)

nian is made up of 2 character. the top is jin (today or now) and the bottom is xin (heart). Therefore Perfect Mindfulness means be keep your heart/mind on the "here and now" state to be aware of the state now but not what had happened in the past or what will happen in the future.

For example: if you got angry but is able to detect the anger arises in you, you could slow down and not react to the anger like scolding or hitting others, that can prevent you from taking wrong or undesirable actions.
Smile

LinYu SG

Let's remind myself that I am sharing with you my idea otherwise I may get too complicient thinking I giving advice. This is an opinion from a non-working person.

The one thing that remains unchange is the "processs of changes". therefore it is beyond us that this changes arise. Human tends to be pessimistic and compare with what we had with what we have and produce negative ideas during comparision. We may not know the standard or demand of your new superior and therefore we think that they makes our life difficult. If we are able to meet their standard, then we think that this new superior is good or nice or even better than your previous boss.

All this are our perceived ideas. Even if we will to quit our job because of this unhappiness, there is no guarantee that our new job will not have the same problem. Just be yourself and do your best. I am sure you will be happy. Happiness comes from being contented. If you want to be happy, just learn to be contented with what you have.

So much for the "idea". Probably my reaction would be that I think if I am really unhappy with my work, i will probably quit but i am still schooling so this is yet a problem for me.

Smile

bohiruci SG

okie non-working ,i guess u must have a clear mind in ur opinions
basically when u are working , u dun afford to have a wonderful life in thinking how to tackle .

i am not saying i am perfect in my approach , becos i tends to dare to bring out issues out to discuss rather than

heck ! i think i can cope !

nope i dun have a difficult superior now
so i was just sharing wat i feel last time when i encountered nasty superior last time .

Laughing

soemt SG

i agree with the these views, too complacent from thinking giving advice? Hmm. Smile

Yes the mind does seem to be constantly comparing things 'automatically'. What relief it must be for to be free from such and other unecessary 'mind-chatter'.

And yes assumtion is another thing the mind seems to be very very good at, without getting the facts straight. This seems to point to our current inability to differentiate relative reality from ultimate reality. Whether i coin something good or bad with relation to me seems to depend on my wants and percieved needs at that time.

i have thought a lot abt problems that seem 'unsurmountable' and always seem to come to the conclusion, that what i lack is wisdom or energy. So if i wished to be a problem solver, best examples are the buddhas and bodhisattvas, i must seek the wisdom and cultivate energy. More energy=able to seek more wisdom. Logical is it not?

Of course with wisdom i will eventually uncover the value/virtues of generousity, patience, compassion, loving kindness, equaminity, sympathetic joy, morality, determination. And finally when renounciation is adopted, what is referred to as the happy life may commence. Very Happy

Have heard the advice many times that if obstacles are too great, you have to remember that you can give up, 'let go' too. Wink But not too use it as anexcuse to be lazy though

LinYu SG

i have thought a lot abt problems that seem 'unsurmountable' and always seem to come to the conclusion, that what i lack is wisdom or energy. So if i wished to be a problem solver, best examples are the buddhas and bodhisattvas, i must seek the wisdom and cultivate energy. More energy=able to seek more wisdom. Logical is it not?

Sometime the more energy you have seeking, the further you stray away from wisdom. One should be focus in the practice of Perfect Mindfulness and Perfect Concentration on top of the other six fold path to attain wisdom.

As explain above the idea of Perfect Mindfulness I shall attempt to explain Perfect Concentration. Take example: When we play with the magnifying glass under the sun, we can burn a piece of paper by concentrating the sun ray on the piece of paper. similarly if we can concentrate the mind, we can also acheive wisdom thur the practice.

Smile

bohiruci SG

good ,modern use of perfect mindfulness Wink Wink Wink

An Eternal Now SG

Good.. if we can understand impermanence, there is no existing entity called a "boss" to attached to Wink there is merely Impermanence/change (Everything is completely new, distinct, and original every instant, with no real "change" or "motion" at all)... no impermanent/changing 'things'.

Bodhiruci -

Like as mention in the Diamond Sutra

"the past mind is ungrasppable , the present mind is ungrasppable and the future mind is ungrasppable";

only the Eternal Now (mindfulness/pure awareness) is true... no 'future boss' and 'previous boss'. even the 'now boss' cannot be grasped. that is trascending relativity Smile

May Buddha (pure awareness) be with You!

LinYu SG

Actually I like to the simpler and direct way of understanding Dhamma. They are not complex, direct as if you can understand it by self experience.
Very Happy

An Eternal Now SG

Yes. Truth in itself is simple - it is a form of direct experience. Trying to know conceptually without practising will only lead to grasping and dharma attachments. Sorry if I have termed it in a very 'chim' way. Obviously I do not have my master's skills in teaching dharma in a lively and simple manner!

Basically what I meant was, the past, the present, the future, cannot be attached. Why is this so? Because the past is already over, the future has not yet come, the present cannot be attached because once you attach to the Present Moment - it becomes the past. Thus the Present is ungraspable. Living in the Now means being mindful/aware - not attached to anything of the Past, Present or Future.

Anyway I am very surprised that you are 13 years old. Finally I found someone younger than me who posted in this forum! Very Happy This proves that one is never too early to begin Buddhist cultivation! (p.s. there are scriptural records of two 7 year old novices who attained enlightenment during Buddha's times) Very good that you have started young.. you have learnt much.

An Eternal Now SG

Originally posted by soemt:

i have thought a lot abt problems that seem 'unsurmountable' and always seem to come to the conclusion, that what i lack is wisdom or energy. So if i wished to be a problem solver, best examples are the buddhas and bodhisattvas, i must seek the wisdom and cultivate energy. More energy=able to seek more wisdom. Logical is it not?

Of course with wisdom i will eventually uncover the value/virtues of generousity, patience, compassion, loving kindness, equaminity, sympathetic joy, morality, determination. And finally when renounciation is adopted, what is referred to as the happy life may commence. Very Happy

Wisdom in dealing with problems and leading people is also very important, to develope such wisdom we must also be constantly mindful/aware... practising the 8 fold path. Gradually we will gain wisdom. Although solving problems require intellect, Wisdom is not merely a form of intellect Smile Intellect does not necessarily make you live a happy life, not end up in jail, not cause any 'wars' and conflicts. Gradually we will gain greater wisdom and Prajna wisdom (wisdom to directly perceive Emptiness).

I believe what you meant by "energy" means viraya, preserverence, effort. Not only must we have this in our daily work... it is also very important towards enlightenment. Without this, how can we accomplish anything on the Bodhisattva path? We should always practise Right Effort (or perfect effort) Smile

bohiruci SG

i should said ur possess the wisdom , but lets come back ,can we ?

imagine i am ur english teacher i asking ur to write composition on "Modern Buddhist living in the 21st century " Wink

liddat ur sure fail ur compo . please put example into everyday life Laughing

i understand dharma and teaching is important , but if we always at so deep a level ,the question i popped in mind is
can we bring ordinary ppl to understand buddhism ,instead of leaving them in awe ? Wink Wink