Are there any Buddhists here? If so, what do you practice?
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Buddhism is a spiritual tradition that focuses on personal spiritual development and the attainment of a deep insight into the true nature of life.\nA Different Way of Faith \nThis makes Buddhism different from many other faiths for it is not centred on the relationship between humanity and God. \nBuddhism doesn't fit the pattern of other faiths and needs to be seen in its own terms to be understood properly.\nBuddhists do not believe in a personal creator God.\nIt does not have the concept of a Saviour, nor of Heaven and Hell in the popular sense. \nBuddhism doesn't demand blind faith or belief, and says that people should test its teachings against personal experience.\nThe Bare Essentials of Buddhism \n\n2,500 years old \n\n\n350 million Buddhists worldwide \n\n\nFounded by Siddhartha Gautama in India\n\n\nThe path to Enlightenment or Buddhahood is through the practice and development of morality, meditation, and wisdom.\n\n\nBuddhists do not believe in a creator God nor a personal God, but Buddhists are tolerant of those whose beliefs are different from theirs.\n\n\nBuddhists believe that nothing is fixed or permanent — change is always possible.\n\n\nBuddhism teaches that all life is interconnected, so compassion is natural and important.\n\nBeliefs\n\n  \n \n \n Tibetan monks use prayer wheel  \n \n \n\nSummary of the Teachings of Buddha\nAdmission to the monastic sangha involves two rites of passage: \n\nKarma: Actions have consequences; so our lives are conditioned by our past actions\n\n\nRebirth: Consciousness continues after death, and finds expression in a future life\n\n\nLiberation from karma: By following the Buddha's path one escapes the cycle of craving and suffering\n\n\nThe Four Noble Truths: The essentials of Buddhism\n\n\nEnlightenment:The highest goal of life is to reach Enlightenment; a state of being that goes beyond suffering\n\n\nDharma: The teachings and hence the way to nirvana\n\n\nThe Core of Buddhist teaching\nAt the heart of the Buddha's teaching lie The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path which lead the Buddhist towards the path of Enlightenment.\n\nFacing the Truth\nThe Buddha taught that the human tendency is to avoid the difficult truths of life and this in turn leads to suffering. \nBy enabling the mind to be at peace through meditation a human being can confront reality and overcome hatred and craving. \n\nfor more information visit :
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stretching, practicing silence, stillness & observence
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Congratulations! By accepting you're in God's image after all, You're now a Buddhist. Cheers!
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my guess is people who study Buddhism
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A discussion is a great idea.  We can learn from each other about the good and fruitful parts and ignore what is harmful. I have a Buddhist background but I respect others'\nbeliefs.  One day maybe we can open the "Church of all Faiths" where the services are alternatively Christian, Buddhist, Muslim,Jewish, Hindu, Atheist, Agnostic. I think we will find that we are human first and foremost. Why not?
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In my opinion, Buddhism is amazing. First off, it is a religion based on a philosophy of peace and compassion for all beings. Not just those that believe as we do. It doesn’t matter if a person is a Buddhist, a Christian, a Muslim, a Wiccan or an atheist. All beings are treated with respect. \n\nBuddhism focuses on the hear and now. The idea is put an end to suffering. We are not overly concerned with life after death or with the history of the universe. Focusing on what was and what may be detracts from the now and anxiety about what will be or pondering the truth behind what has been, can cause suffering. So why worry about that which you can not change? Besides, nothing science proves or disproves changes anything about Buddhism. Buddhism is not concerned with evolution or creationism, we are here, that's all that matters. It would be nice to know, but it does not impact our beliefs in any way. \n\nBuddhism is very open when it comes to the world at large. Buddhism stresses that others should never be harmed, directly or indirectly. So anything that does not hurt others or ourselves is acceptable in Buddhism. Where other religions have restrictive rules that state that certain things are immoral or wrong, Buddhism has the Noble Eightfold Path. The rules of most other religions dictate what must be done or what must not be done. The eightfold path is a guide for living properly and maintaining good karma. It is not a book of absolute roles. The idea is to try your best to live by the path and each day strive to do better. Buddhism teaches that by following the Noble Eightfold Path, you can end suffering. If you do not follow the path, then your suffering will not end. It is not punishment, it is causality. For instance, if you are given a remedy for an ailment and you do not take the remedy, you will remain sick, if you take the remedy, you get well. There is no punishment for not taking the remedy other then the consequences of not taking the remedy. Likewise, the only consequences of not following the Noble Eightfold Path is not ending suffering. The Noble Eightfold Path can be summarized into three categories: wisdom, virtue, and concentration and are as follows:\n\n<Wisdom>\nRight Understanding or Right Perspective: This is the understanding or knowledge of suffering and what causes it.\n\nRight Thought: This is the refraining from thinking ill thoughts about yourself or others. \n\n<Virtue>\nRight Speech: Abstaining from lying, abusive speech, idle chatter and divisive speech.\n\nRight Action: Abstaining from taking life, stealing, improper sexual activity, harming others or yourself.\n\nRight Livelihood: abandoning any livelihood that conflicts with the Noble Eightfold Path. For instance, doing any job that intentionally causes harm to others would be an improper lively hood.\n\n<Concentration>\nRight Effort: The endeavor to abandon all things that conflict with the Noble Eightfold Path. In other words, endeavoring to maintain Right Action or Right Speech. \n\nRight Mindfulness: Keeping in mind what is at hand. A person should at all times be aware of his/her body, feelings, thoughts  and actions. Avery action should be fully experienced and deliberately performed. \n\nRight Concentration: Keeping the thoughts on the here and now. Knowing what you are doing and doing that thing to the best of your ability.  In other words, not daydreaming about doing something else while performing the tasks at hand. \n\nThese eight guidelines for the ending of suffering all revolved around the two core ideals of Buddhism, Compassion and Mindfulness. This shows the fundamental wisdom of Buddhism. One can not start a war and claim that it is in the name of Buddha, since war is NOT compassionate, it can not be done for the sake of Buddhism. You can not lie, cheat or steel in the name of Buddhism, because these actions cause harm and thus can not be done for the sake of Buddhism. A person can not go out and put dow
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Well you know the crosswords are a great alternative, or perhaps bingo? Or better yet bridge or knitting. lol\n\nYou know the buddhists believe that the way to true enlightenment is to free yourself from the urges of the body and the world. But its a catch 22 because we all need to procreate and eat and need money to live right? I guess its a lifestyle of trying to reach this enlightenment through spiritual discipline and meditation. To achieve Nirvana the state of wanting nothing\n\nThats nice and all but I say to hell with it. I'm gonna have sex and eat a nice cheeseburger with fries when I'm done. Oh and don't forget the pre sex cocktail and the post sex ciggarette. lol
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Atheism and Buddhism? \n\nThe teachings of the Buddha, and thus Buddhism in general, does not stress the existence of a god, nor does it prohibit the possibility of a god. Buddha teaches that there are certain truths and by accepting these truths and learning how to live with these truths, we can end suffering. The truth is independent of a god and therefore god is not a part of the core Buddhist beliefs. If a person chooses to believe in a god is entirely up to the individual. Many Buddhist do believe in a god or in gods or in a higher power that could be considered a god even is not specifically names such. Many of the so called Asian Christians still practice Ch'an (Zen) meditation. They simply incorporated Christianity into their existing faith. In Japan, many Buddhists also follow aspects of Shinto. This is Not against the teachings of the Buddha. Buddha never said my way is the only way ,do as I say or else. In fact, Buddha said that everyone's journey would be unique and that they should question all teachings, including his, and that the individual should take that witch works for him. \n\nAtheist do not believe in a god or any higher power. According to willblueeyes26, Atheists don’t care about anything.  This is not true. They do not believe in an immortal soul. In their mind, they can not fathom that there is more to humanity then the flesh and the bones since there is no concrete proof that a soul exists. To an atheist, worrying about the nonexistent is a waste of time. It is not a matter of not caring about the soul, it's a matter of caring about life. Generally speaking, they feel that if we live for only 60 to 100 years, then we should make the most of it, because once it's over, it's over. This is not the same as not caring. \n\nWillblueeyes26 also seams to believe that Buddhists believe that people are reborn over and over until they reach godhood.  This is also inaccurate. Most Buddhist do believe in reincarnation, this is true. But when a person achieves enlightenment, then he or she is freed from the bindings of the cycle of rebirth. That is to say that reincarnation stops and Nirvana is entered. Nirvana is another topic all together. Some believe it is a place like heaven, others believe it is a state of existence. What is known and what is important, is that if you focus on Nirvana, it will never be reached. Those who enter Nirvana, are NOT gods, just those who have awakened from the cycle of samsara. (Live, death and rebirth.) Buddha is not a god, is not considered a god and even insisted that he was not a god. \n\nMarti249 wrote, "To each their own - whatever the individual feels most comfortable with. Just don't slam others who choose a different path." This is a very Buddhist approach. The differences between different sects of Buddhism are vast, and if a person is uninitiated into the teachings of Buddha, could even seam almost polar opposites from one another. Tibetan Buddhism and Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism are about as alike as Roman Catholicism and the Southern Baptist faith.  And yet, neither group believes the other party to be wrong. The Lama's of the Tibetan beliefs speak fondly of Ch'an Monks and visa versa. Many Buddhist have held religious leaders of other faiths in high regards for the things that these people have done. Buddhist believe that it is not god you follow or what faith you hold dear, but what thoughts you think and what actions you perform. \n\nBlessedman believes that Buddhist worship statues.  This is not the case. Although again, some sects do pay homage to figurines, generally speaking, statues are more for decoration, inspiration and motivation. An old Buddhist tail tells the story of a Buddhist teacher and his disciple who, while walking along in the snow and freezing rain, came to a temple and entered. They built a fire with the logs that had been stacked for making fires, but then the wood ran out and the snow was still falling,
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So Buddhism and Christianity by definition are different religions, and one should be careful when trying to "mix" them. For example, Buddhism does not believe in a "creator-God" who controls the world and similarly, Christianity does not believe in karma or rebirth. \nOn the other hand, it may not be a bad idea to look at what we can learn from each other: the beautiful Christian practice of helping others in need is just as useful to Buddhists, as Buddhist meditation techniques can help Christians.\n\nmeditation (there's nothing 'spiritual' or 'buddhism' about it):\nThe practice of meditation basically complements the inherent nature of your mind. The negative patterns that we talked about--aggression and anger--are not inherent characteristics of the mind. So when you practice meditation and begin to relate to the inherent state of the mind, these enlightened qualities can surface, and the intensity and frequency of the habitual patterns are subdued. Then you can discover such potential qualities as compassion and loving-kindness.\n\nprayer in buddhism:\nBuddhists don’t pray to a Creator God, but they do have devotional meditation practices which could be compared to praying. Radiating loving-kindness to all living beings is a practice which is believed to benefit those beings.\n\nin buddhism: chanting mantra (prayer) & meditation compliment each other.\n\nin christianity: prayer is a communication with god. meditation is a stress relieving method (like yoga). they don't compliment each other by most christian denominations.\n\nin buddhism:\nUnlike other religions, it does not even attempt to answer questions like 'What is the purpose of life, the universe and everything?' . Buddhism regards such questions as at best unanswerable and probably intrinsically meaningless. The only purpose of life is what we personally give to our own lives. Buddha suggested that the most meaningful use of life was to seek liberation from ignorance, suffering and the cycle of samsaric rebirth, both for one's self and others. But this 'meaning' does not reside 'in the sky' or in any way outside of the individual, and it cannot be imposed, but must be freely chosen.\nMost other religions go further than Buddhism, and if asked 'What is the purpose of life, the universe and everything?' will usually come up with an answer along the lines of 'To fulfil the will of God.' \nThis invites the further question of 'What is the will of God', which usually brings forth an answer to the effect that 'God's will is to create life, the universe and everything'.
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I'm not a Tibetan practitioner, but I'm very intrested in all Mahayana schools, especially anything to do with the Lotus Sutra,\nEmail me at Shinai_Inaozuke@yahoo.com, if you want to talk
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That question cannot be answered fully in a few sentences. So please visit the following pages to read the entire thing:\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_philosophy\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism
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What is Buddhism really all about?\nSimply speaking, this is to avoid harming others and to help them as much as possible. Another way of expressing this is, Abandon negative action; create perfect virtue; subdue your own mind. This is the teaching of the Buddha. By abandoning negative actions (killing, etc.) and destructive motivations (anger, attachment, close-mindedness, etc.), we stop harming ourselves and others. By creating perfect virtue, we develop beneficial attitudes, like impartial love and compassion, and do actions motivated by these thoughts. By subduing our mind, we cut away all false projections, thus making ourselves calm and peaceful by understanding reality.\n\nThe essence of Buddha’s teachings is also contained in the three principles of the path: definite emergence, the dedicated heart and wisdom realizing emptiness. Initially, we seek definitely to emerge from the confusion of our problems and their causes. Then, we see that other people also have problems, and with love and compassion, we dedicate our heart to becoming a Buddha so that we are capable of helping others extensively. In order to do this, we develop the wisdom understanding the real nature of ourselves and other phenomena.\n\nbrief overview:\nhttp://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/pathmaps.htm\n\nbecome enlightened:\nthe Buddhist teaching is one of being enlightened  now rather than doing anything to become enlightened. The idea that you must do something to become enlightened can only come from wrong understanding. Then enlightenment is merely another condition dependent upon something else - so it is not really enlightenment. It is only a perception of enlightenment. However, I am not talking about any kind of perception but about being alert to the way things are. The present moment is what we can actually observe: we can’t observe tomorrow yet, and we can only remember yesterday. But Buddhist practice is very immediate to the here and now, looking at the way things are.\n\nNow how do we do that? Well, first we have to look at our doubts and fears - because we get so attached to our views and opinions that these take us into doubt about what we are doing. Someone might develop a false confidence believing that they are enlightened. But believing that you are enlightened or believing that you are not enlightened are both delusions. What I am pointing to is being enlightened rather than believing in it. And for this, we need to be open to the way things are.\n\nWe start with the way things are as they happen to be right now - such as the breathing of our bodies. What has that to do with Truth, with enlightenment? Does watching my breath mean that I am enlightened? But the more you try to think about it and figure out what it is, the more uncertain and insecure you’ll feel. All we can do in this conventional form is to let go of delusion. That is the practice of the Four Noble Truths and the development of the Eightfold Path.
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Yes. There were a number of Brahmin hermits, Hindu ascetic & Vedic monks and Yoga masters (Yogi's) all advocating meditation. The Buddha studies with several masters from many of these tradition's.\n\nIf you are interested in an in depth look at the Buddha, what he studied and the word around him, go to the link below. It has a lot of information. \n\nhttp://www.buddhanet.net\n\nIn particular, for the life of the Buddha, check out this page:\n\nhttp://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/lifebuddha/index.htm\n\nI hope this helps.
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If you pray to Avalokiteshvara you would most likely be a Mahayana Buddhist.  I am not sure you could be a lot more specific than that.  He is one of the most, if not THE most, popular bodhisattvas around the Buddhist world.  You are most likely some sort of Chinese Buddhist since it is the Chinese name for him.  You might also like cross-dressing.  (He always looks so much like a woman =)  ).
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To many, Buddhism goes beyond religion and is more of a philosophy or 'way of life'. It is a philosophy because philosophy 'means love of wisdom' and the Buddhist path can be summed up as:\n\n(1) to lead a moral life,\n(2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, and\n(3) to develop wisdom and understanding.\n\nBuddhism depends more on understanding than faith.\n\nBuddhism teaches that wisdom should be developed with compassion. At one extreme, you could be a goodhearted fool and at the other extreme, you could attain knowledge without any emotion. Buddhism uses the middle path to develop both. The highest wisdom is seeing that in reality, all phenomena are incomplete, impermanent and do no constitute a fixed entity. True wisdom is not simply believing what we are told but instead experiencing and understanding truth and reality. Wisdom requires an open, objective, unbigoted mind. The Buddhist path requires courage, patience, flexibility and intelligence.\n\nIn Buddhism, understanding is the most important thing and understanding takes time. So do not impulsively rush into Buddhism. Take your time, ask questions, consider carefully, and then make your decision. The Buddha was not interested in having large numbers of disciples. He was concerned that people should follow his teachings as a result of a careful investigation and consideration of facts.
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1. Strictly speaking, for a human being there is no other practice than this practice. There is no other way of life than this way of life. Zen practice is the direct expression of our true nature. Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905-71) \n\n2. The formless body of complete illumination of the nature of awareness; Don't use knowledge and views, misconstruing far and near. If thoughts vary, you're blind to the profound essence; If the mind differs, you're not close to the path. When feelings discriminate myriad things, they submerge the present situation; When consciousness perceives many aspects, you lose the original reality. If you can understand clearly from such sayings, Clearly you're the man of before, without any concern. Sozan Honjaku [Ts'ao-shan Pen-chi] (840-901) \n\n3. Just avoid seeking from others, Or you will be far estranged from yourself. I now go on alone; I meet Him everywhere - He is now just I, but I now am not He: One must understand in this way In order to unite with thusness. Tozan Ryokai [Tung-shan Liang-chieh] (807-869) \n\n4. Fellow learners! To achieve Buddhahood there is no need for cultivation. Just carry on an ordinary task without any attachments. Release your bowels and water, wear your clothes, eat your meals. When you are tired, lie down. The fool will laugh at you, but the wise man will understand. Rinzai [Lin-chi I-hsuan] (?-866)\n\n5. In the universe there is not a spot of land as small as a mustard seed where I have not sacrificed my life or have not buried my bones. Sakyamuni Buddha (c. 563-483 B.C.) \n\n6. Even when then bamboos are growing thick, they do not obstruct the running stream. \n\n7. The Perfect Way knows no difficulties Except that it refuses to make preferences; Only when freed from hate and love, It reveals itself fully and without disguise; A tenth of an inch's difference, And heaven and earth are set apart; If you wish to see it before your own eyes, Have no fixed thoughts either for or against it. \n\n8.  I asked God for strength, that I might achieve, I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey ... I asked for health, that I might do greater things, I was given infirmity, that I might do better things ... I asked for riches, that I might be happy, I was given poverty, that I might be wise ... I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men, I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God ... I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life, I was given life, that I might enjoy all things ... I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I had hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am among all men, most richly blessed - Anonymous\n\n9. Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." (Matthew 5:38-39)\n\n10. If you judge people, you have no time to love them - Mother Teresa \n\n11. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. Mahatma Gandhi \n\n12. The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. Hellen Keller \n\n13.  My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher. Socrates\n\n14. Impossible is a word only to be found in the dictionary of fools. Napoleon Bonaparte\n\n15. That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. \nNeil Armstrong \n\n16. History is a cyclic poem written by time upon the memories of man. Percy Bysshe Shelley\n\n17. Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours. Yogi Berra\n\n18.  A gentleman is one who never strikes a woman without provocation. H L Mencken \n\n19. Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will. Jawaharlal Nehru\n\n20. I
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there are many many kinds of meditation. i'm doing pure concentration meditation, designed to quieten and clear the mind so that i can use it to look deeply, to see what's going on in my mind, and develop mindfulness & insgight. its a difficult form of meditation @ the beginning, but it's well worth becoming competent in. it forms an ideal foundation for further practice in the future, and it's also very conducive to a happy, stable life in the present.\nchoose a suitable place in your home where you can practice meditation uninterrupted. it needs to be quiet, not too bright, and out of sight of other people.\nonce you found the spot, find a good firm cushion, so that you can sit cross-legged, having something to cushion your ankle.\nto start, sit down on your cushion, sitting towards the front of it so that your body is sloped very slightly forward. experience will show you the optimum position. fold your legs so that your knees & ankles are touching the floor. the important thing is to have a good straight back & reasonably comfortable legs, so that your pgysicaly energy isn't blocked. place your 2 hands in your lap, palms up, one on top of the other.\nonce sitting there, wriggle a little bit to find an effortlessly comfortable position for your back & arms. you don't want to feel tension anywhere. then you can begin.\ntake a breath, hold it for a moment, then let it out gently. pause for a moment, then take the next breath. again hold it for a moment, and let it out again. do this for 10 breaths. once you've got the rhythmn, start to count your breaths. a breath is a complete cycle-- in, hold, out, hold- and most meditators find it better to count towards the end of a cycle rather than @ the beginning. in other words, you are counting complete breaths. simply count 1 to 10 in this way. when you've reached 10, start again. if your mind wanders and you lost the count, start again from one.\ndo this for 10mins @ a time for a week or so. when you are ready, increase your sitting time to 20mins. you can do it anytime, but most people do it regularly @ the beginning of the day & @ the end of the day.\nthis is all there is to it, and @ first you'll wonder why on earth you are doing it. your mind will wander, you'll probably feel twitchy, and you'll be bored. but persevere. ther's absolutely nothing better than this for calming the mins & opening mental doors that you never knew were there.\nwhat comes after this? once you've got to a stage where you can follow your breaths effortlessly, so that you can say, 10-20mins, and not lose count even once, you'll be ready for the next stage. in this, you start to observe the contents of your mind. you'll still be using the method of following your nreaths, but now, beacause of the concentration you've already developed, you'll be able to add in a new activity. it's not possible to do this until you've gained control of your mind.