Most western children grew up knowing more about Christianity despite their family's actual belief is Buddhism (parochial schooling). So I am curious if some people actually converted back to Buddhism and continue with the practice and why? I didn't attend a parochial school but was and am a Buddhist since I was born, more so now than before after some recent incidences. I agreed what a friend of mine wrote: "What inspires me most about Buddhism is that the Buddha never claimed to be anything other than an ordinary human being. This means that the equanimity and joy that we see in the many images of him is within the reach of every one of us."
i believe most children that are Buddhist dont know anythign about it and just follow parents to temple and do the worship and really don't give a shit about it?...correct me if im wrong but it seems like that with a lot of my Buddhist friends
That's basically me. If someone asks me, I'll just say I'm a buddhist. I know a little bit about the religion, but not too much. It's not like I don't give a shit about it, I'm just indifferent. I was never properly taught about it. I'm sure if I actually took the time to read about it more and what not, I'd be a little more serious with the religion.
Watching Journey to the West gave me more information on the religon, Im sure it inspired a lot of kids too. XD
I am born and raised a Buddhist, however I went to an all Catholic grade school, so I am quite familiar with rituals and prayers of both religions (though I know you mentioned Christianity, not Catholicism). Thus you can say I had the opportunity to choose which path I wanted to go. I decided to return to my birth belief in Buddhism, not because of any belief in an omnipotent being (a God-like being), nor my preference to Buddha's humble nature of not claiming to be an omnipotent being, but rather, I returned to my root beliefs in Buddhism due to the Buddhist's way of life. To me, the teachings of Buddhism is much clearer, and more applicable to my daily life. That said, that doesn't mean I'm against any other religion at all. I don't discriminate against any other religion, in fact, if I see that other religions offer wise teachings, I would apply those teachings, in combination with Buddhist teachings. My belief is that people should not blindly follow one specific religion, and be closed-minded to any and all other religion. I think you can have a preference to a religion (such as my preference to Buddhism), but I also believe that if you find teachings from other religion that you deem is a good teaching, then you should apply it to your life. The idea of blindly following an omniscient being, like citizens blindly following a king into battle, or loyally following a sports team is the act of being closed-minded in my opinion. To loyally follow a sports team or a leader is fine, but to blindly follow a being whose existence has not been proven is being ignorant and closed-minded. I welcome people to flame my post. =)
Oh, I completely agree. I hate it when someone tries to force feed a religion down my throat, when I find they don't apply to me at all.
I didn't mention Catholicism because a lot of my friends who were Catholic converted to Christianity when they hit college. Why? The strictness .. celibacy and/or acceptance of sexual orientation. Of course, there are more fellowship groups available than Catholics and served more of a social gathering hub for students who come from different walks of life. Whilst everyone has his/her own preference on religion, I disagree with you that people should follow various religion practices that they feel applicable towards their lives. I am not saying one should follow blindly but one shouldn't combined different religions into one's life. Faith helps turn people towards the light; however, you gotta pick a path. There's no right or wrong in it and doing so doesn't mean you're narrow-minded either. Like I said, I haven't been a devoted Buddhist until recently due to certain events in my life. I used to have many doubts about religions and sometimes even feel it's pathetic altogether. Yeah, I see the wisdom and all but the chanting and meditation and all those harsh practices in Buddhism is something I couldn't comprehend. Anyway. long story short, I understand things a bit more now. One has to find a path that they're most comfortable with and follow it all the way because that's the only way you will see the truth in it. When in doubt, ask the seniors for help and guidance. Again, not follow blindly .. gotta use your own judgment as you learn along. Buddhism for example has thousands years of history and a lot of the practice may appear silly or whatsoever, it's not. Different age, life experiences, and education have/attain different level of understanding. What I once thought was plain stupid during my teen years isn't so much now that I am in my 30 and married, know what I mean? The understanding and its usefulness is never ending; like a poem .. everyone has different points of view. No right or wrong. When you follow various practices (like most Asians who thought all along that they're Buddhist when in fact, they're actually Taoist - no burning paper money in Buddhist practices), you're all over the place. You will never see the true value. Buddhism isn't a question and an answer. It's a question and the answer has to be soul searched within yourself and maybe tons of possibilities. That's why it's so difficult to document or prove through the nowadays methodologies. Each and everyone of us is different and the path we choose to follow and the result we reap are also different. Bottom line is that "一心不能二用".
couldn't agree more. Didn't bother to find out more about the religion. Just tag along with parents to temple n stuff. Going through all the praying ritual during CNY, special days on lunar calendar. Somehow, most often or not, buddhist practitioner also will do a bit of taoism. It gets quite messy. My mom keeps on buggin us siblings that in the future, after she passed away......-cry2 no one will know how to do all these rituals, praying things. Couldn't agree with her more. If people are to ask me, i would say i am a buddhist, becoz i am comfortable being one (used to it). Having said that, i do think that at the end of the day religions are all just teachings from the past that come about with positive intention to guide us to live life in a better way. I do have my reservations on some rules n practices of some religions but if no one tries to stuff their religion down my throat, hey, everyone lives by their choices.
I certainly respect your argument, and that's generally what the majority of the people believe as well. However, I feel I need to point out that, you're certainly correct in saying that there's no right or wrong path, but in regards to "Faith", it's a matter of perspective, IMO. You see, to some, "Faith" could mean a belief in a higher being, say God for example. "Faith" could also mean a belief in a specific set of values offered by a specific religion. My definition of Faith is my belief in spirituality, and after much reading and discussions with people, I find that spirituality is something that's common amongst the majority of religions. Yes, the Higher Being factor is different for each religion, and yes, the values do certainly differ as well, but a belief in spirituality is something that I find is a common factor in the majority of religions. Another factor that is relatively common among religions are the teachings. The secondary objective of a religion, other than offer a path to follow (as you've mentioned), is to provide guidance and possible set of directions to show how one should live their lives. The reason why you may think I'm mixing up religions (I'll touch on this point in a minute), is because there are teachings that are similar between multiple religions, such as the universal guidance of do no harm, do not do unto others what you don't want done to you, etc etc. I follow a religion not because I want to follow their belief in a Higher Being (in fact, I could care less if there's a God or not). I follow religionS because I want to take those moral teachings and better myself. And these teachings are identical to one another, if you spend time and lay them out. As for mixing up religions, my values are purely those of Buddhism, and I hold to them dearly. However, my acceptance of good teachings is open in nature, and I do not discriminate teachings that can help me better myself, regardless of what religion it originates from. If I were to strictly follow a religion, its belief in some higher being, its values and strictly its own moral teaching, I am discriminating against other religions, and discrimination leads to conflict. As a Buddhist, you know that one of the Buddhist values states that you don't discriminate. It also isn't the path to enlightenment. Buddha himself travelled throughout Asia, and learned about numerous other religions. Buddhism itself is a sum of good teachings from other religions. It has roots in Hinduism, Islam, heck, even Christianity. So, though you may believe that I'm mixing up religions, and that may "dilute" my Buddhism values, I do not believe that's the case, as I believe that by indiscriminately accepting good moral teachings, I am strengthening my Buddhism values. Furthermore, to learn means to indiscriminately acquire knowledge about any and all source of information. To selectively follow one source of information is restrictive, and counter productive. I hold dear to Buddhism, I wouldn't lightly throw it away, nor disrespect it by going against its teachings, specifically the value of continuously bettering oneself. What does that mean?
Whatever you choose to believe, it’s best to follow its teaching and values. It’s not about discrimination or narrow-mindedness if we only learn from one set of teaching. When individual exposes to various teachings, our mind is always questioning, doubting, and confusing; no longer the “pure mind” that’s dedicated to the true teaching of the religion and created unnecessary conflicts. Our thoughts and values become subjective; not objective to truly appreciate its form. Don’t get me wrong here, you should still use your own judgment and question whatever you feel irrational within “one” religion. A lot of the Buddhist teachings that were passed down may appear idiotic or ridiculous; however, if you “fully” understand the religion in its true form, you will see the reasons behind them. Buddhism is not confined to a Bible sorta speaking. Keep in mind, disciples/believers before us aren’t stupid. Place, time, and people change but the teaching has to remain pure. Religion is not about being practical and/or convenient; it’s not what “you” think is right so you practice it or what “you” think is wrong so you skipped it; not sure if you know what I meant. I can tell you that Buddhism focuses not only on your spirituality, but your overall well being including your physical (meditation), emotional (chanting), and mental (wisdom) health. There is no definite path to enlightment since everyone’s different like I have said earlier. You said, following one source is counterproductive; but how can you say so when you don’t even know the depth of the teaching of the individual religion? You based only on a minute understanding of it and that’s not right. The Chinese phrase means “one can’t do two things at the same time” – can’t drink and whistle at the same time sorta thing. No right or wrong in religion but do pick one. This isn’t a major in college where you want to do interdisciplinary learning – business and law or whatsoever .. those are humanly skills and knowledge for present day living – to work and earn money. Religion isn’t that. Know what I mean?
^ I'll tell you straight up, everything you've just said was the _exact_ way I used to follow Buddhism, since birth, until recently. So don't wrong me, I understand/and am aware of what Buddhism has to offer. However, recently I've decided to look beyond what is restricted to one religion. I decided to see religion as an educational institution, an interdisciplinary as you put it. Whether or not a religion should be seen as such is the decision of the believer. But I guess that's a judgement call, isn't it? Because none of know for a fact if what we both say is even true to begin with.
^ Well ... I don't know about other religions but what I said about Buddhism is true. I learned from various senior monks whom have between 40 to 70 years of practice. For me, I can tell you that I don't believe .. I feel it .. the changes in me. Good luck finding the right "one" for yourself. In Buddhism, it's about karma (not bad, referring to "fate"). Which ever path you choose, if you're dedicated to it, you will see the light. I don't mean the light at the end of the tunnel thing .. I am referring to happiness and peacefulness.
Yes I understand what you're telling me. I am Buddhist too after all. However, how is what you're saying any different than a Christian saying that he believes everything from the Bible is true? In terms of "seeing the light", that's exactly what Christians say. Furthermore, path to happiness and peacefulness can be gained from anywhere. One is not forced to strictly follow Buddhism to find them, nor any other religions for that matter. Anyways, I'm gathering from your post that you're not satisfied that I'm deviating. I feel like you want me to follow striclty Buddhism, one and only one religion. What I'm trying to say is that you can't be sure that some stuff we're praying for in Buddhism is actually true, until you die and move on to the afterlife. You can't be 100% sure what you say about Buddhism is true, because, again, one is only certain at death. Moreover, if we're leaning to the argument of whether a religion is "correct" or not, that in of itself is against the values of Buddhism. In Christianity, yes, there is a commandment that says "thou shalt not have any other God before me", however there is no such saying in Buddhism. I've spoke to numerous other monks who concluded that one should find and apply all possible ways to better one self, and not strictly follow one religion, if there are other ways, in addition to Buddhism, that can help one better oneself. I'm happy that you found your path, but I'm telling you, there are multiple paths to enlightenment, some of which applies to others, and some don't. Buddhism is a way of life in my eyes, not a religion. If you think and treat Buddhism as a religion (which it's commonly mistaken by the media), then that's just cause for conflict with other religions. I'm following this way of life, and learning more about different religions to broaden my understanding of what's right/wrong, and how I can better myself. So, as a Buddhist to another, I'm asking you to respect my way of life, and not think that I'm steering away from Buddhism due to whatever reasons. Your path may work for you, but that doesn't mean it will work for everyone else, or every other Buddhist. Correct me if anything I've said is offensive or inaccurate.
I respect your decision/s. Perhaps I typed too much and gave you the wrong impression but it's your choice to do whatever you want. I am not trying to convince you or whatever; just sharing with you my own experience. In regards to happiness and peacefulness, I was referring to one's devotion. Yes, no one knows if any of the stuffs said in the Bible or Buddhist Scrolls are anything true until we die; however, I feel that if believing in Christianity or Buddhism now give you happiness and peace of mind; then to me, that's enough. The light I am referring to can be anything such as new friendship, career changes, etc .. I am sure you know what I mean .. faith gives you the inner strength and power sorta thing and open up your eyes to different perspective on life. Okay ... I am gonna say it anyway and if it's offensive, my apology is in advance. I personally think your "idea" of learning from other teachings is bad (not the teaching itself). Your hunger to learn from others to better yourself .. that hunger is a greed. How so? You wanna learn what's practical to your life by learning and learning from different religions. You keep learning but you don't actually practice it and in the end, the learning only become useless. You don't go far enough in any religion to actually know or truly understand the meaning of it. Know what I mean? Even a senior monk doesn't know the Buddhist scrolls inside out; it takes them a lifetime to learn and understand only a bit of it. The wisdom is deep and understanding it requires not only education but life experiences too. Let me give you a clearer example .. eastern and western medicine .. both have its goods and bads. A lot of people think that they can apply both methods into treatment (your idea of interdisciplinary) but in reality you can not do so. Perhaps for cold and cough but anything more serious, the treatment is far different. Does that give you a better pic? Eastern med is slow but if you follow it through (from a good Chinese doc) then you will somewhat gain your health back. If two days later you feel western med offer a quicker resolve .. undergo surgery or whatever, then you will never know if the eastern med even work. perhaps you need not remove the gallbladder or kidney or whatever .. when you can't decide and jump around like that .. you won't know the end result.
Np. I welcome educational debates. Perhaps. But how is it different than the hunger to learn as much as possible from one specific religion? Spending a lifetime focusing on one religion, to learn and understand as much as possible from one religion fits into the definition of greed too. There is bad greed, yes, but the greed for good knowledge is never a bad thing. That's how evolution occurs. Are you sure? We live thousands of kilometers/miles away, how do you know my life style? It's up to you to believe it or not, but I apply everything I learn into practice. I hate just learning theory for the hell of it. I'm a tactile person. Learning is useless if it's not put into practice. I feel I have wasted time if I learned something that I cannot put into practice. Again, are you sure? Yes, you're correct in terms of other religions, but how do you know my level of knowledge in Buddhism? All I've said was that I accept all sorts of teachings from different religions, I don't think I mentioned much (if at all), that would imply my lack of knowledge in Buddhism. Lack of mentioning does not equate to lack of knowledge in the area. These assumptions about someone shouldn't be made... I'll have you know that I have been a devout Buddhist since birth, attending, and learning about Buddhism concepts at a younger age. Please refrain from such assumptions... Agreed. But my aim is not to learn the scrolls. My goal is not to decipher the scrolls. My purpose is to apply all deciphered teachings to better myself. And that's called putting it into practice. Your tone implies that I don't understand what you're saying... When I fully understand, and respect it. Let me use your example to explain what I believe. I broke my foot during an examination for Taekwondo a few years ago. In terms of healing broken bones (for example, one of many types of illness like that), Eastern medicine works much more efficiently than Western medicine, and here's why: 1) In Western medicine, all they do is give you a scan, and wrap a cast around your broken bone, and let it heal naturally, regardless of the position of the fractured bone. This will cause bone problems in the future. 2) In Eastern medicine, they ensure that your bone is correctly aligned before it starts healing, so it heals correctly. However, in terms of microbiological medicine, Western medicine is better than Eastern medicine, say, removal of keloids or something. In such areas, Western medicine have a better chance of success of correcting the issue. Furthermore, if you have a keloid the size of a baseball, how long will you wait until eastern medicine takes its effects? 5 lifetimes? So, since we only have one life (since we can't be sure of reincarnation), why not apply everything that has been found already? Instead of attempting to continue to decipher teachings that may prove to be futile since you didn't have enough time to apply it in your lifetime? So you see, I am not applying both knowledge at once. Does that give you a better idea of what I believe in? It may seem that my counter arguments take a defensive tone, but I wanted to correct and clarify some false assumptions that were made towards my own path. And moreover, this isn't particularly my own path either. There are quite a larger number of people who think the same way too. If you still believe that my path is flawed (which it is very certainly in your rights to do so), I completely respect that, and I wont force explanations on you. But I do however ask that you judge someone based on clarified facts about one's way of life, rather than make assumptions about their way of life. I'd very much appreciate that.
^ I didn't and couldn't judge you. I don't even know you in person. My response seems so but I really am not. I was focusing more on trying to get my thoughts across .. lol. Anyway, I am glad you understood what I was saying so that's cool ... I am having a lot of probs expressing myself these days ... Again, good luck buddy.
I wish you the best. Good luck to.you as well. I hope you find the happiness and peacefulness you seek =)
I'm curious how most of you learned the believes behind Buddhism. We follow all the traditions for holidays, like most people have seen Journey to the West, and my mom mentions some teachings here and there, but overall there's not formal way of learning like there is with parochial schooling (which I've gone to for high school). I want to learn more because I agree with most of what I've learned from the sources available, but do most of you just pick up books on the religion or do you go learn from people at the temple or find some guru?? Or what else?
Ever since at a young age, I used to visit the temple every Saturday in Montreal, until I moved to Toronto. My parents found that the temples in Toronto didn't follow the same direction as the one we went to in Montreal; and I stopped attending altogether. There are quite a few temples that have the aim of getting profit (like membership fees and stuff. However, at home we have a room dedicated for praying and shrines. I've always followed what my parents have done, and they served as an example. If you wish to learn more, visiting temples is a great idea, however, beware of some "corrupted" temples that aim to make a profit... Another suggestion is to pick up some spirituality books, and books on Buddhism. That may be a good start. Once you have a better idea, you can decide for your own if you want to attend temples or whatever. Good luck
I think you have to do your own research and use your own judgment. Don't believe everything you've read, heard, and learned; that's not to say you shouldn't believe everything at all. Like Dan said, there are some corruptions. At the same time, keep in mind that every temple has different ways of teachings but the materials remain similar. For example, for the Chinese - Ch'an and Fu Kuang Shan are too dominating ones in Taiwan specifically. The saying goes - teaching is the mouth of Buddhism and meditation is the heart of Buddhism. The Ch'an emphasizes more on meditation so they offer a lot of FREE meditation classes whilst FKS emphasizes on teaching so they offer a lot of FREE books and activities classes. The best way for everyone is different and also has to do with fate too. In general, you can find reading everywhere even online. But you gotta hit a temple and get a clue what you really believe in .. too many Chinese crossed between Taoism and Buddhism .. some temples really against it ... eventually find a temple you're comfortable with .. monks, the patrons, etc...
