So I've been studying Buddism in my Religions class and I must say that is much more philosophy than religion at least thus far

Anyways I found some of it quite interesting. Buddha had the choice to go to Nirvana but came back to teach and continues to come back until all the world is awakened and free of anguish...

Sounds a bit like Indigos/Crystals to me. Perhaps we are all just reincarnated Buddhist monks and nuns!

Perhaps the Buddhists were the first indigos and crystals...

Anyone want to discuss

*at this time I would like to remind people that I know that the definitions of indigo and crystal are dependent on the individual. I am operating under my own definition of the word.

** also my laptop is almost out of power so if I don't respond for a while that is why

Buddhism comes in a lot of flavors, but the general ideas are great. I recently came across something called "Engaged Buddhism" which is pretty interesting and I've never heard of it before.


Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism:
1
Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.

2
Do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice nonattachment from views in order to be open to receive others' viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times.

3
Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt your views, whether by authority, threat, money, propaganda, or even education. However, through compassionate dialogue, help others renounce fanaticism and narrow-mindedness.

4
Do not avoid suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering, including personal contact, visits, images and sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.

5
Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry. Do not take as the aim of your life fame, profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure. Live simply and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.

6
Do not maintain anger or hatred. Learn to penetrate and transform them when they are still seeds in your consciousness. As soon as they arise, turn your attention to your breath in order to see and understand the nature of your hatred.

7
Do not lose yourself in dispersion and in your surroundings. Practice mindful breathing to come back to what is happening in the present moment. Be in touch with what is wondrous, refreshing, and healing both inside and around you. Plant seeds of joy, peace, and understanding in yourself in order to facilitate the work of transformation in the depths of your consciousness.

8
Do not utter words that can create discord and cause the community to break. Make every effort to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.

9
Do not say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people. Do not utter words that cause division and hatred. Do not spread news that you do not know to be certain. Do not criticize or condemn things of which you are not sure. Always speak truthfully and constructively. Have the courage to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may threaten your own safety.

10
Do not use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit, or transform your community into a political party. A religious community, however, should take a clear stand against oppression and injustice and should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts.

11
Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. Do not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Select a vocation that helps realise your ideal of compassion.

12
Do not kill. Do not let others kill. Find whatever means possible to protect life and prevent war.

13
Possess nothing that should belong to others. Respect the property of others, but prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth.

14
Do not mistreat your body. Learn to handle it with respect. Do not look on your body as only an instrument. Preserve vital energies (sexual, breath, spirit) for the realisation of the Way. (For brothers and sisters who are not monks and nuns) Sexual expression should not take place without love and commitment. In sexual relations, be aware of future suffering that may be caused. To preserve the happiness of others, respect the rights and commitments of others. Be fully aware of the responsibility of bringing new lives into the world. Meditate on the world into which you are bringing new beings.

From the book 'Interbeing': Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism, revised edition: Oct. l993 by Thich Nhat Hanh, published by Parallax Press, Berkeley, California

hmm seems like a more modern version. Certainly easier to read then some of what we have been reading. I forget the name... starts with a D

thanks for sharing

Buddha means awakened. Awakenism. I like it.

Dharma. The way or path and truth, reality.

The idea that each one of us has the ability to become a Buddha sooner or later appeals to me. In the sutras Buddha refers to the past, present and future Buddhas, also very appealing.

I like Buddhism very much.

I'm incapable of forming a coherent thought at the moment but I would certain like to come back and take part on this discussion.

I like this a lot, Protonexus. Thank you.

just to add.. Buddha Dharma, The awakened/enlightened reality/truth.

very fascinating.

The Buddha

All the Buddhist teachings unfold themselves around the conception of Buddhahood. When this is adequately grasped, Buddhist philosophy with all its complications and superadditions will become luminous. What is the Buddha?

According to Mahamati the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva, who is the interlocutor of the Buddha in the Lanka, the Buddha is endowed with transcendental knowledge (prajna) and a great compassionate heart (karuna). With the former he realises that this world of particulars has no reality, is devoid of an ego-substance (anatman) and that in this sense it resembles Maya or a visionary flower in the air. As thus it is above the category of being and non-being, it is declared to be pure (visuddha) and absolute (vivikta) and free from conditions (animitta). But the Buddha's transcendental wisdom is not always abiding in this high altitude, because being instigated by an irresistible power which innerly pushes him back into a region of birth and death, he comes down among us and lives with us, who are ignorant and lost in the darkness of the passions (klesa). Nirvana is not the ultimate abode of Buddhahood, nor is enlightenment. Love and compassion is what essentially constitutes the self-nature of the All-knowing One (sarvajna).

http://lirs.ru/do/lanka_eng/lanka-nondiacritical.htm

I just started reading this particular piece.

all dharma's are empty.

its true but the fact that all Dharmas are empty is in itself Dharma.

There's simply different names for the same thing, choose whatever path you like. Buddhism is awesome, but so is everything else to me. Take truth wherever you can find it.

great words, Naterade. I personally like the way Buddhism is taught, its more my style. I do however get warm and fuzzy feelings for Jesus, Mohammad.. you get the point.

true true, I guess I just saw a similarity... honestly I can see similarities to us in most religions I have studied thus far

all the paths meet up in the end

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Yeah, I agree, I think they all meet up in the end because they all spawned out of the same oneness. They're all good, to a point, then you outgrow it and you're getting closer. It's limiting to hold yourself to only one, I do love Buddhism a lot though, to me it's more of an ambition than a religion itself, it's just the path of enlightenment, and like Proto said, some will even tell you not to be bound to any ideology, even Buddhism. Worshipping Buddha is not what they do, he was more like a teacher showing you the path to god, just as jesus was or many others. I think it was more like well we should call them something so others labelled them as Buddhists, when really it is beyond that. I very much like the way Proto described, take from everything, subscribe to none, walk your own path, but give all glory to the one true god, of which the name is not so much important as coming to know god personally. This is meditation, direct communication with god, or another word for meditation, prayer. The names are unimportant, the truth is beyond words. At best you can only make a vague attempt at telling someone what god is, you have to come to the experience yourself.

Over time, something came up in my practice. I found that the main difference between Buddhism and other religious beliefs is that Buddhism puts all faith in the individual as his/her own creator. Although there are deities, there is no overall Zeus type figure or higher God Creator of All.

The nature of cause and effect implies that there is no end to our infinite inward and outward existence. This means that most traditional Buddhists do not believe in a overall creator. There is no beginning or end, just effect after cause after effect etc.

I think for our human systems, to view the world symbolically as everything as whole, is a very powerful tool. This is why I practice Buddhism while still believing in God. Just wanted to share my experience. Buddhism is wonderful to explore and apply to life.

reality is a vacuum,

luminescent,

omnipresent,

silent.

yes I agree with you on this. I've always sort of taken the lessons I liked the best, that seemed to make the most sense to me from each religion I've encountered and built my own belief system.

when people get huffy with me I ask: We still love the same God, so what's the problem?

Hehe exactly! We're all loving the same god, if you took the time to look into it and get past the semantics you'd see that, so there is no problem, maybe ignorance from lack of education. But instead of pointing the finger at those who control our education, upbringing and way of life, some choose to fight with their fellow brothers and sisters. We're getting there tho.

what i like with budhism and asian things generally is that the knowledge is totally free of moral judgement and is almost technical or scientific, it just show a path and some consideration and prone to forge his own morale judgement more than making you complying to one =)