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Dr.Caligari posted:The world is violent and ugly. There are countless injustices out there, most which we will never even know of, and one could drive themselves crazy thinking about them. But try focusing on what you can do positively. Keep those suffering in your mind and do what you can to ease that suffering, even if all you can do is pray. Thank you, this was very helpful. And you're right about the media that we take upon ourselves. It can definitely fuel bad emotions. We shouldn't avoid them though, because we will never conquer, mentally, while avoiding something that brings us pain. I know that the Buddhist way is an internal battle, and that in order to help the world we must help ourselves first. But sometimes I feel so weak and I want to do something - anything. I hate feeling weak. And yes, I realize that's a problem. Jupiter Jazz fucked around with this message at 17:28 on Dec 10, 2014 |
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Dec 10, 2014 17:18
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I like to think of my consumption of awful news about the world as a sort of tonglen. (Of course, by this metric, you might consider the work of political satirists to be a form of tonglen. But would you be wrong?)
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Dec 10, 2014 18:16
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Himuro posted:I know that the Buddhist way is an internal battle, and that in order to help the world we must help ourselves first. But sometimes I feel so weak and I want to do something - anything. I hate feeling weak. And yes, I realize that's a problem. I remember coming across this a couple of months ago and I found it particularly helpful. Apparently it was inscribed on the tombstone of an Anglican Monk from 1100 AD. Maybe you'll find a connection to this as well? "When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world." reversefungi fucked around with this message at 19:25 on Dec 10, 2014 |
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Dec 10, 2014 19:18
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Thank you for sharing. It's hard when there's so much pain and suffering in the world though. 
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Dec 10, 2014 22:24
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Himuro posted:Thank you, this was very helpful. And you're right about the media that we take upon ourselves. It can definitely fuel bad emotions. We shouldn't avoid them though, because we will never conquer, mentally, while avoiding something that brings us pain. He's spot-on about the media wanting to absorb your attention. Your attention is the focus of your mind, your senses, in short, you. They want to wind you up emotionally, then control you....like any other manipulative entity, including people. It's a lovely little game. Don't let them have it, own yourself if nothing else, and you own everything. That's what buddhism and any valid path are about.
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Dec 11, 2014 00:31
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Encountered this today and it summarized my situation ten fold while also giving me a virtue to hold on to.quote:Yet, the slogan tells us, we can turn all of this into the path. We do that by practicing patience, my all-time favorite spiritual quality. Patience is the capacity to welcome difficulty when it comes, with a spirit of strength, endurance, forbearance, and dignity rather than fear, anxiety, and avoidance. None of us likes to be oppressed or defeated, yet if we can endure oppression and defeat with strength, without whining, we are ennobled by it. Patience makes this possible. In our culture, we think of patience as passive and unglamorous; other qualities like love or compassion or insight are much more popular. But when tough times cause our love to fray into annoyance, our compassion to be overwhelmed by our fear, and our insight to evaporate, then patience begins to make sense. To me it is the most substantial, most serviceable, and most reliable of all spiritual qualities. Without it, all other qualities are shaky. http://www.lionsroar.com/life-is-tough-six-ways-to-deal-with-it-march-2013/
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Dec 12, 2014 01:12
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Regarding how compassion can hurt and so on, I recently saw this brief talk that I think nicely addresses the issue from the perspective of Madhyamaka. I don't know anything about this guy giving the talk, but he seems pretty on point with regards to Two Truths doctrine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TUr949kmZk
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Dec 12, 2014 01:32
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Hey folks, I am starting to get back into Buddhism. Many years ago I sat with a Zen group and it was good, and now I that I am older I am looking for something spiritual, but also need help relaxing, focusing my mind and simplifying my life. I have read the OP and the internet, and I am not sure if Zen is where I need to be, or if some of the Tibetan forms would be good too. I live in an area with a lot of options, and that is making it difficult to make a choice. The good news is that with the new year, there are a lot of "Introduction to ..." lectures or events. I have done Zen meditation before, and other secular forms of meditation/relaxation. With the Tibetan forms, is there more that just meditating? I see a lot on various focuses, mantras etc. Is that helpful, or meditation pretty much the same however you look at it?
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Dec 12, 2014 02:03
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Continuing with the past discussion as well, here's a great piece on dealing with being black, anger, being a Bodhisattva and the recent police non-trial grand jury decisions. http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/12/do-bodhisattvas-get-angry-a-response-to-to-the-killing-of-eric-garner/ In my opinion, VerbObject, I'd go with what you gravitate towards. I enjoy the simpleness of Zen, so I went with that. Go to all the choices you have available, and then make your choice. 
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Dec 12, 2014 02:30
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Himuro posted:Thank you for sharing. It's hard when there's so much pain and suffering in the world though. Yeah but one of the most important realizations is that you're far too small to change the world. Don't worry about changing the huge things but change the small things you can do. Be compassionate when you can. If you come across somebody hungry and can afford to buy them a meal do so. If a friend fell on hard times help them. Maybe volunteer at a soup kitchen. The way you feel changes nothing. The way you act does. The little things add up to big things. If all of us each do some little things it piles up.
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Dec 15, 2014 02:29
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Hey all, I'm very new to the study of Buddhism, and quite enjoying just taking my time to explore things. The reason I post is to share / ask about something I've noticed. I tend to do a lot of still-life painting, and a huge part of that is learning to ignore 'the idea of what's there' and paint what's actually there. Much more difficult than I'd expect, but at my best I can hit moments of stillness that seem very similar in nature to descriptions of peace-from-meditation - that is, total focus without effort. The more I've thought on it, the more it seems like a very similar practice to (my understanding of) meditation, in that I'll spend X amount of time trying my best not to be distracted and to focus on one thing without preconception. To a large degree, my thinking has been "Huh, so that's how it's meant to flow. Hmm, almost, I dunno... 'zen'...", which led me here. As I say, though, I'm only just beginning to explore Buddhism, I just wondered if anyone had any similar experiences? e: Himuro posted:http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/12/do-bodhisattvas-get-angry-a-response-to-to-the-killing-of-eric-garner/ Wow, that's... Powerful. petrol blue fucked around with this message at 05:50 on Dec 18, 2014 |
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Dec 18, 2014 05:38
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petrol blue posted:Hey all, I'm very new to the study of Buddhism, and quite enjoying just taking my time to explore things. The reason I post is to share / ask about something I've noticed. I tend to do a lot of still-life painting, and a huge part of that is learning to ignore 'the idea of what's there' and paint what's actually there. Much more difficult than I'd expect, but at my best I can hit moments of stillness that seem very similar in nature to descriptions of peace-from-meditation - that is, total focus without effort. Please enjoy this reading, I think it is relevant to your question: http://www.dharmanet.org/do_nothing_dzongsar_rinpoche.htm
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Dec 18, 2014 15:55
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Thanks! It's a little different to what I meant, but still very much of interest. And then I happen upon Enso: exactly what I was trying to articulate, in concentrated form!
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Dec 18, 2014 17:06
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The Dark Wind posted:"When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. This is essentially the same idea you find in the Chinese classic Great Learning: The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the kingdom, first ordered well their own states. Wishing to order well their states, they first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things. Things being investigated, knowledge became complete. Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere. Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified. Their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated. Their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated. Their families being regulated, their states were rightly governed. Their states being rightly governed, the whole kingdom was made tranquil and happy. (old-fashioned James Legge translation found here: http://ctext.org/liji/da-xue) I sometimes think the idea to change the world but you can change yourself is a modern affectation, but it's been with us for a long time. To bring it back to Buddhism, I've never really grasped whether I should develop compassion because it's good for my mind, or because it's good for other beings. But in strictly Buddhist terms, I suppose there is no difference.
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Dec 19, 2014 14:59
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pidan posted:This is essentially the same idea you find in the Chinese classic Great Learning:
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Dec 19, 2014 22:47
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With regard to changing yourself to change the world, this is pretty much a thing because our locus of control is fairly limited to ourselves. Even great leaders who have conquered nations or built empires or whatever did not do so themselves but through their interactions with others leading others to interact with still others and so on. It's literally impossible to change a city without first doing something oneself. Beyond the metaphysical ideas of changing oneself to change others (the non-dual nature of samsara and nirvana, etc.), there's a kind of rudimentary fact that every action, thought, word, is a change to oneself. If I write a thing, I become the person who has written that thing, it is a change. If I eat food, that, too, is changing myself, and so on. With regard to the second question of compassion, it's important for all of those reasons. It arises naturally along with wisdom. If one attains wisdom of emptiness and so on, they will naturally become more compassionate. If someone practices the perfections of generosity, patience, and so on, they will naturally become more compassionate and gain wisdom. Bodhicitta, the heartmind of Buddhas, isn't a binary state, it blossoms like a flower, and compassion is an aspect of that. So you should be more compassionate, and as a result you will benefit beings and yourself, and there is no difference, and it doesn't matter anyhow why or in what way, but it is an end in itself. Compassion is a necessary condition of liberation, as is wisdom, but it's not like a binary thing where you get compassion and get wisdom and then add salt and water and bake for 20 minutes and you get liberation. Compassion and wisdom are coemergent with liberation and enlightenment.
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Dec 19, 2014 23:29
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Merry Christmas!!!
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Dec 25, 2014 22:36
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Can someone tell me more about Shambhala? I am in the Denver area, so there is a big presence, but looking at their site (not Naropa), it seems more like a college than anything else. They have weekly open meditation, but otherwise, there is a whole list of classes, each with prerequisites, that are offered at scattered times and order throughout the year. Is this the meat (poor word choice?) of things? What happens if you miss out on a class and can't take it for a year? What do you do in the mean time? It seems very different than what I read about Tibetan Buddhism. Is there any relationship with a teacher? I realize that I sound like a stressed college freshman, and that is the mind I am trying to unshackle.
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Dec 28, 2014 20:34
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Since nobody has answered yet, I'll answer to the best of my ability, I truthfully do not know if that's how Shambhala is run, but it wouldn't surprise me. I don't know about Shambhala, but I know about Shambhala, if that makes sense? In order to understand why Shambhala might be like that, it's important to look at what it is and the conditions around its founding. Specifically, Shambhala is the tradition of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a fairly controversial lama and demonstrator of "crazy wisdom." Shambhala is named after a mythical city that essentially creates a pure land where it is. The tradition was founded by Trungpa Rinpoche, who was quite fetched with the West and wanted to adapt Dharma to Western culture. To this end, it adopted Western clothes and some Western traditions. A large part of Western culture is our regimented, industrial style education system. It would not at all surprise me to see the traditional Tibetan system of transmission and spiritual development moved into a University style system as part of that larger Western cultural integration. So briefly, Shambhala is not representative of Tibetan Buddhism as a whole, but rather Tibetan Buddhism with a deliberate attempt to Westernize it. The lineage transmissions remain solid (I believe Shambhala follows the Karma Kagyu lineage line), but the presentation has been deliberately changed. Frankly, that is not a bad thing. It is necessary that Buddhism adapt to the cultures in which it is spread because the Dharma is not a cultural tradition, and the presentation can be changed to work in different times and places. That said, there is a general progression to Tibetan Buddhism that lends itself to being morphed into that University style system. Traditionally Buddhist education in the monasteries follows a structure which includes tantric transmission eventually, and generally develops skills as well as a fluency in the scriptures. The skills include practical and ritual education, and so on. Such as how to play instruments, how to build farms, etc. The tantric education, at least in the school that Shambhala would follow, uses oral transmission lines, but there is a set order of things that is generally followed. In Tibet, for example, one usually does the preliminary practices (ngondro) in 3-6 months as their full time occupation, then typically a 3 year isolated retreat occurs at some point, and so on. Some practices require others to build on - a lot of the tantric practices require a lot of contemplative learning as well as engagement with Dharma before they'll make any kind of sense at all. If you try to practice some yogas without having been introduced to other yogas, none of it will make sense. Typically, in Tibet, you'll have a spiritual director who will structure your regular practices (as a monastic, the tantric tradition in Tibet is actually generally limited to monasteries and lay-yogic lineages, the general public basically just grabs empowerments and hopes they fruit in a future life) as well as a root lama or a specific guru with whom you may only directly communicate now and then. These two will sort of guide the development of your practice, and help you to attain realization, which is why they must be qualified - someone who hasn't attained realization can't possibly know what will help another person attain liberation, they don't even know what will help them do it! So it does lend itself to a university style system, but I don't know that that's the best or only way to disseminate it. A direct relationship with a teacher is the best method for developing spiritually. That said I'm sure there are some around in Denver to look about. Another point just briefly on finding a guru is that you're going to develop a relationship with a guru when the time is right. No amount of looking can help - that karma will fruit when it fruits. Often, in order to establish the relationship with the true guru, some practices can help, specifically things like ngondro but also any meritorious practice, because merit will help remove obstacles and purify impediments to that guru developing himself. The guru is always looking for his or her disciples, but the disciples must also work to make themselves ready to find their guru, otherwise what good are the teachings? So even though you may not find The One right away, it is generally good to practice whatever practices one is given devotedly because this generates the merit that can fruit in a connection to the guru.
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Dec 29, 2014 02:34
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SubjectVerbObject posted:Can someone tell me more about Shambhala? I am in the Denver area, so there is a big presence, but looking at their site (not Naropa), it seems more like a college than anything else. They have weekly open meditation, but otherwise, there is a whole list of classes, each with prerequisites, that are offered at scattered times and order throughout the year. Is this the meat (poor word choice?) of things? What happens if you miss out on a class and can't take it for a year? What do you do in the mean time? It seems very different than what I read about Tibetan Buddhism. Is there any relationship with a teacher? Parametric is pretty correct about the history of the organization. I grew up in the tradition myself and can probably help here. The organization now is vastly different from what it was, and that is largely due to the the Sakyong (Trungpa's son) taking over and making it his own. You are right that it does have a more regimented "level" system for teachings that one has to go through. Generally, if you miss something in Denver, the same thing will be offered at another location. Even their senior level classes are done like this. As for teachers, they also have different levels and ranks for them, with the Sakyong at the top. I hesitate to call it this, but the entire structure of the organization is slightly modeled off of a militaristic image. The Kasung and Kusung meet for regular drill practice and have stratified ranks, with permanent and field promotions. Their program for teenagers is also built around this system (I took part in it for a long time.) There is drill practice, uniform, and color guard. This aspect of Shambhala is something that Trungpa put in place, and has remained, though the power structure of the Kasung has changed drastically. As someone just coming into it, you will very likely never encounter that aspect of it. However, if you are really interested, I would encourage you to make the trek up to the Shambhala Mountain Center. That space is absolutely worth seeing, and may be more to your liking. It also has the Stupa dedicated to Trungpa, which is a sight to behold. It's about an hours drive from the Denver area. Max fucked around with this message at 14:51 on Dec 29, 2014 |
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Dec 29, 2014 14:42
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Guys, thanks for the thoughtful replies. It just seems odd. Here, takes these classes and poof, you're enlightened, or something. I am sure there is much more to it, but I am coming from a place where I have spent a lot of my life being told 'just do x, y and z and you will be happy successful, etc' and life doesn't seem to work that way. I am going to try to spend a few months visiting different places. Denver has a lot. Of course if you go to meetup.com, the first things that come up are SGI, NKT and Diamond Way, but the more I look the more smaller groups I find.
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Dec 30, 2014 17:39
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If you would like, I will ask around for Drikung Kagyu centers in Denver. There is one I know in Aurora, and HE Garchen Rinpoche has a retreat center in Denver that I assume should be supported by a local sangha. I can get information on the teachers at those centers fairly easily as I'm currently at a Drikung center in Maryland with many visitors. I offer this merely because I have the most familiarity with that lineage and can offer small support or understanding on its processes.
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Dec 30, 2014 20:05
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SubjectVerbObject posted:Guys, thanks for the thoughtful replies. It just seems odd. Here, takes these classes and poof, you're enlightened, or something. I am sure there is much more to it, but I am coming from a place where I have spent a lot of my life being told 'just do x, y and z and you will be happy successful, etc' and life doesn't seem to work that way. It's easier to find your way around unfamiliar terrain if you have a guide. Think of it that way. Yes there is much more to it but find teachers you can work with and learn from them.
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Dec 31, 2014 02:54
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It's definitely not an "enlightenment academy" of sorts, but it's a standardized system of disseminating basic teachings that everyone receives, as well as a way to make sure that everyone attending certain higher teachings has the prerequisites. One serious problem in the proliferation of tantra in the West has been that you can actually do serious harm to both yourself and the guru by taking practices you are not prepared for or carrying more samayas than you can uphold and so on. The Shambhala system kind of prevents that, I suppose. Nothing will substitute for a single guru to be your refuge, but this system helps people stay on the same page. In the East, the monastic tradition and authority would serve the same purpose.
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Dec 31, 2014 03:06
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SubjectVerbObject posted:Guys, thanks for the thoughtful replies. It just seems odd. Here, takes these classes and poof, you're enlightened, or something. I am sure there is much more to it, but I am coming from a place where I have spent a lot of my life being told 'just do x, y and z and you will be happy successful, etc' and life doesn't seem to work that way. For some background, Trungpa was basically ordered to put this system in place by the 16th Karmapa, so that their teachings could migrate to the west after coming out of Tibet. It's very hard to describe that program. I would suggest you try at least level one to get a feel for it, but if you think it isn't for you, absolutely look for something else instead. Denver and Boulder are chock full of resources.
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Dec 31, 2014 07:40
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Can you talk more about the samaya's? This is a vow you take with one lama to have as a teacher and stick with them, yeah? Is there an official ceremony for this (taking the Bodhisattva vow?) , or is it more 'informal'?
Dr.Caligari fucked around with this message at 14:45 on Dec 31, 2014 |
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Dec 31, 2014 14:40
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A samaya is broadly just a deeply held aspiration vow. Popular examples include the various forms of bodhisattva vows, to liberate all sentient beings and not to attain parinirvana until then, and so on. Within the context of tantra or Vajrayana however, it represents the vows made between the student and the vajra master. They usually come along with empowerments, by default in fact, and include usually maintaining some loyalty to the teacher and vice versa, often practicing on certain days, not dishonoring the teacher or teaching, not abandoning the path, things like this. Because they represent a deep karmic bond however it is important not to take them lightly because breaking the vows hurts not just the disciple but also the guru, because giving samayas that won't be upheld is itself a negative act. I can put together a more detailed and coherent post later today with some sources, because I really don't know much myself. I'll try to do that when I get to work.
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Dec 31, 2014 15:01
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My mother gave me a a Buddha statue (bhumisparsha-mudra posture) that has apparently been blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and it has a painted face. What do I do with him? I built a little shrine around him with the few religious artefacts I have lying around and burn my incense on it but other than that am I supposed to do anything other than treat him with respect? I guess I'd get some bad karma if I knocked him on the floor. I'm not entirely sure what properties a blessed statue is meant to have... Also I have a little Shiva statue in the shrine to the back left of him, is that disrespectful? I dunno if I'm even the right person to have this, I haven't even taken refuge.
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Jan 4, 2015 20:10
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You must destroy it. *nods sagely, and then nods normally*
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Jan 4, 2015 20:50
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The Shiva? I really have no idea what it's supposed to do, I know you're not meant to put statues of the Buddha on the floor so I guessed a blessed one would be even worse, I looked up what blessing a statue is and apparently it's filled with mantra's. blessed and then has a face painted on. I have no idea what the significance of this is though or what it's meant to symbolise. I don't know what mantra is inside it without sawing it open, and that seems like a bad idea. Nor do I know what the blessing would have consisted of. But being blessed by HHDL seemed like a fairly big deal so I gave him a shrine but past that what is the point? Is he meant to generate positive karma or something? What's the difference between a blessed and unblessed statue? After a lot of googling I think it's a Rabne consecration or eye opening ceremony but I'm still not sure if I should be doing something with him...
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Jan 4, 2015 22:28
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He's making a clever joke with "if you meet the Buddha on the road," or perhaps he's giving some sick rear end Zen style advice about getting rid of attachments. What you've done with it so far sounds pretty appropriate, I suspect most Tibetans would keep it in a treasure chest, but I would probably just deploy it on a shrine, yes. If you are inclined to do so, make water offerings to it (7 small bowls of water poured from the statue's left to right), if you're not inclined to do so, don't. I probably would put it on a separate shrine from Shiva, but if that doesn't work simply putting the Buddha in a higher position than the Shiva is sufficient. It's notable that being blessed by HHDL is awesome but you can't make a Buddha more Buddha, and in most traditions, any Buddha image should be treated as the actual person of the Buddha, so the blessing itself just makes it more precious to us in a conceptual sense, but not actually any more precious than any other Buddha image or icon.
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Jan 4, 2015 22:50
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My mantra is "Tane" OP
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Jan 5, 2015 00:30
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Paramemetic posted:He's making a clever joke with "if you meet the Buddha on the road," or perhaps he's giving some sick rear end Zen style advice about getting rid of attachments. The way I see it is that HHDL blessed it for my mum, she highly valued it for decades and gave it to me when I was feeling depressed with the intention of bringing a peaceful energy into my environment. The fact that she gave me an item she prized so much does mean I'm treating it with extra reverence and care, and along with the shrine I'm taking the practice much more seriously. It doesn't make the statue any more Buddha, and yeah it's all conceptual but that doesn't make it any less important. And the whole chain of events started with the blessing. If she'd given me a dusty old figure from a drawer I probably wouldn't have treated it with as much respect, even though I should. In fact until I read your post I didn't even know every Buddha image should be treated as the person of the Buddha so I wouldn't have even known I should. It's my first shrine and I like the idea of giving it a bit of attention and thought each morning by making an offering. I don't have 7 bowls (or at least 7 small enough to fit on the shrine) though, would one work fine or is there a special reason for 7? I could probably pick some up at the centre's shop next time I go down if it's particularly important. I've always wondered, what do people do with offerings at shrines? I get incense and candles, they burn away, but stuff like water, fruit and flowers? Do you just chuck it out at the end of the day, wait until it rots or wilts?
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Jan 5, 2015 00:42
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As someone who has just started discovering the world of Buddhism, I just wanted to stop in say that the OP rocked and really helped me find resources to jump start my investigation. In particular the "Mindfulness in Plain English" as well as the audiodharma recordings made the concept of meditation incredibly approachable. I've been reading as much literature as I can get my hands on, and man the concepts certainly require a lot of introspection. I feel like I'm ever so slowly getting a hang of some of the root basics; Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, 5 hindrances, ect. One thing I am having a hard time grasping though is the particularities of rebirth, and what happens when you actually become enlightened. In particular I've seen mentioned multiple times that we can be reborn into "heavenly or hellish realms" and continue the process of enlightenment there. I had always assumed that Buddhism didn't have a concept of heaven so it's confusing me quite a bit. Anyone have a good specific source that explains these concepts from a real laymen perspective? Most of the sites I've gone to or books I've read tend to lose me in all the unfamiliar terminology.
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Jan 5, 2015 00:44
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Crack posted:The way I see it is that HHDL blessed it for my mum, she highly valued it for decades and gave it to me when I was feeling depressed with the intention of bringing a peaceful energy into my environment. The fact that she gave me an item she prized so much does mean I'm treating it with extra reverence and care, and along with the shrine I'm taking the practice much more seriously. It doesn't make the statue any more Buddha, and yeah it's all conceptual but that doesn't make it any less important. And the whole chain of events started with the blessing. If she'd given me a dusty old figure from a drawer I probably wouldn't have treated it with as much respect, even though I should. In fact until I read your post I didn't even know every Buddha image should be treated as the person of the Buddha so I wouldn't have even known I should. It's all good, and yes, it is definitely a precious object, but a Buddha image itself is a precious object. quote:It's my first shrine and I like the idea of giving it a bit of attention and thought each morning by making an offering. I don't have 7 bowls (or at least 7 small enough to fit on the shrine) though, would one work fine or is there a special reason for 7? I could probably pick some up at the centre's shop next time I go down if it's particularly important. 7 is traditional, but not mandatory or anything. The bowls are usually just like 2 inches across, small bowls specifically for offerings. In the absence of offering bowls, lights, a flower, whatever you want to offer is fine. quote:I've always wondered, what do people do with offerings at shrines? I get incense and candles, they burn away, but stuff like water, fruit and flowers? Do you just chuck it out at the end of the day, wait until it rots or wilts? Water is poured out somewhere it won't be walked over, or used to water plants. Foods can be left outside for animals. Flowers can be burned or just left outside, ideally where they won't be trod upon. They should be taken down before they begin to wilt. When offering food, it's considered inappropriate to offer the worst food or food you don't want, it's better to offer the best food from a batch and eat the other stuff yourself. You can also eat some foods you offer, after it's been left for a day, but generally I prefer to leave it out for animals.
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Jan 5, 2015 00:51
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SpaceCadetBob posted:As someone who has just started discovering the world of Buddhism, I just wanted to stop in say that the OP rocked and really helped me find resources to jump start my investigation. In particular the "Mindfulness in Plain English" as well as the audiodharma recordings made the concept of meditation incredibly approachable. There is going to be quite a lot out there regarding the heavenly or hellish realms, yes. Those are terms used to describe the 6 realms of existence. You can read about it in many different places (including Wikipedia,) but I thought the clearest source on this was what Chogyam Trungpa wrote in "The Myth of Freedom." Edit: I'm taking my understanding of it out because I have no place explaining this. Max fucked around with this message at 19:30 on Jan 5, 2015 |
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Jan 5, 2015 19:27
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Briefly, and without perfect accuracy, the heavenly realms are the god realms, where beings with vast stores of merit (but who lacked the wisdom to liberate) are born. In the god realms, beings have basically no suffering, except that they will inevitably die. Then, when they die, they feel the suffering of loss, and so on. Generally they do not suffer much, and they have a lot of potential to practice, but they don't tend to do so because they have no need to practice until their death is inevitable, when it becomes too late. There are a lot of various hell realms, which correspond to the karmas of the beings that end up there. These come from indulging heavily in non-virtuous deeds. They last a long time, and it generally is very difficult to practice, in the same way it's difficult to practice when you're extremely sick. However, this is sometimes still considered preferable to rebirth as an animal, because in the hell realms and hungry ghost realms, most beings have "miracle births," that is, they aren't born of a womb but just kind of spontaneously autoarise, and as a result they tend to remember why they might be there or be able to figure it out. Neither are necessarily "real" places conventionally. Many people do believe in them as such, but this is not really that important what to believe about these things, whether you believe in them or not isn't as important as practicing the core teachings (4 noble truths, noble eightfold path, etc.). I used to be really annoyed by the heavy emphasis Nagarjuna and Shantideva put on the hell realms and avoiding them and so on, because I find it off target, but I think it is necessary to motivate some kinds of people with certain capacities towards practice.
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Jan 5, 2015 19:34
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So I have a weird question. I am looking at groups and I have found one that is interesting, and closer to me than most, but I am trying to find out if the way they are operating is normal. This question comes from my own ignorance, and through me seeking to be judgmental. Specifically, the group is centered around one individual, who has qualifications that are unquestionably excellent. The level of adoration of this individual is not what I would expect based on my admittedly small experience with Buddhism (Zen). Specifically there is a lot of talk of buying him gold statues, bringing over artisans, and other things that seem more 'worldy' in nature. Besides Zen I come from a Liturgical Christian background, so finery, and having nice things is not something I am uncomfortable with, but it just comes across weird since it seems to be glorifying an individual.
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Jan 5, 2015 19:52
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It would help if you were maybe more clear. Is the guy living presently, or is it the lineage head? Is the guy the Buddha? 
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Jan 5, 2015 19:53
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Paramemetic posted:It would help if you were maybe more clear. Is the guy living presently, or is it the lineage head? Is the guy the Buddha? Sorry, I was trying to not give a lot of detail, figuring if it was just my ignorance it was no good naming names. The guy is alive, Tibetian, but in the US now, and is the heart son of the root lama of an uncommon lineage. The group is rather new, so some of what I am seeing could just be setting up a proper Sangha. Aren't we all Buddha?
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Jan 5, 2015 20:05
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