Where do Buddhists pray and Do they have a prayer book they read like a bible?
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I am a Buddhist and I meditate instead of praying.\nI was raised a Christian and also pray sometimes.\nNo they do not have a sacred book.\nNo most Buddhists do not pray.\n\nThere are certain rituals the monks do.\nThere are many books, such as the famous The Way of Zen, that talk about meditation and buddhist teachings.\nBut no sacred book and no sacred being.\nBuddha was a great teacher, but was not a godlike figure like Jesus.\nBuddhism teaches taht we must find our own spiritual path through meditation.\nI realized I was a Buddhist only after 20 years of almost daily meditation. No one told me about it.\nI had read a book called The Book of Secrets, written by a famous Swami, when I was 14. It told of various ways of meditating. It started me on my path.
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Just come back from a Buddhist temple 1 hour ago!Had a visiting monk from California giving a sermon on morality!\nSo what goes on in the temple?When there is no function devotees might come and do meditation.Not much decoration,but we have a big Buddha image with neon light behind the head!You are welcome to visit any of the Buddhist temple!
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Making fun of a bald prophet...\n\nHey, it's in the book...\n\nIsn't it interesting that a Buddhist can recognize a Biblical allusion while several Christians cannot?
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A bit long but I live in Buddhist terrority for 12 years... Below is a synopsis of what I wrote about Buddhism:''\n\nBuddhism\nBuddhism is the third of the great religions, which have contributed to the molding of Vietnamese culture and character over the centuries.  Buddha was a contemporary of Confucius, and the religion he founded entered Vietnam from both India (Buddha’s home), and China.  Today it is perhaps the most visible of the Vietnamese religious beliefs.\n\nBuddha’s teachings “Lead others, not by violence, but by righteousness and equity”\n\nThe major teachings of Buddha are found in the Benares Sermon of Buddha, which stressed the “Middle Way”.  That this “Middle Way” might be realized by humanity, is what Buddha proclaimed what are now known as the Four Noble Truths:\n\n•Existence (life) is a succession of suffering ---or, to exist is to suffer;\n•Suffering is caused and created by desires or cravings; the ignorance of true reality allows ambition, anger, illusion, to continue to cause an endless cycle of existence;\n•The extinguishing of suffering can be achieved only by the elimination of desire;\n• The elimination of desire or craving can be achieved only through the Noble Eightfold Path.\n\nThe Noble Eightfold Path by which the Buddhist must strive to perfect is as noted below.  These are:\nRight views\nRight aspirations\nRight speech\nRight behavior\nRight living\nRight effort\nRight thoughts\nRight concentration\n\nBuddha, in his teachings, did give five Commandments or Prohibitions, which were:\nDo not kill\nDo not steal\nDo not be unchaste\nDo not lie\nDo not drink alcohol\nNone of Buddha’s teachings is of greater significance than the doctrine of Karma.  The wheel, one of the earliest Buddhist symbols, stands for the unending cycle of existence through which life goes on by birth and rebirth.  According to this doctrine of Karma, the sum total of a person’s good or bad actions, comprising thoughts, words and deeds, determine his specific destiny in the next rebirth in this unending cycle of life.\n\nAs translated from the Gospel of Buddha by Paul Carus, Buddha taught that “All beings have Karma as their portion: they are heirs of their Karma; they are sprung (meaning their very origination) from their Karma; their Karma is their kinsman; their Karma is their refuge; Karma allots beings to meanness or to greatness”.\n\nWhile Hinduism holds a similar belief in reincarnation, the wheel of existence and Karma, Buddhism differs in that Buddha taught that there is no self, therefore, no actual transmigration of the soul or continuity of the individual.\n\nIn fact, Buddhists technically prefer the term “demise” to death as they assert there is no death as life is not confined to one’s body, but that the life force experiences a series of rebirths.  In popular Buddhism, the adherent tends to think of himself as a candidate for rebirth.\n\nMan determines his Karma by his actions that he has made himself.  This force, Karma, is held to be the motive power for the round of rebirths and deaths endured until one has freed himself from its effects and escapes from the Wheel of Existence.\nThe state to which the Buddhist aspires is Nirvana.  It is a state of being freed from the cycle of rebirth or the Wheel of Existence.  It is the final release from Karma and can be achieved only by long, laborious effort, self-denial, Godly deeds, thoughts, and purification through successive lives.\n\nAn exact definition of Nirvana seems unobtainable since Buddha refrained from describing this state.  He called it the summit of existence, the enlightenment of mind and heart, the city of peace, the lake of ambrosia and peace, perfect, eternal, and absolute.\n\nIt is the state in which Buddha’s followers believe him to be now as a result of the Enlightenment, which he achieved.\n\nIt was the lack of a clear definition of Nirvana that caused the Gre
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go to church,pray,read the bible
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http://www.buddhanet.net/\nThe above is a good website that tells you all about Buddhism and how its practised. If you want a fun book to read that talks about how to relate to Buddhism, grab the Doa of Pooh, and the Dey of Piglet. Those are fun books that uses Winnie the Pooh and other Hundred Arce Wood characters to help you understand Buddhism. It's not written for children either, even though it uses Winnie the Pooh.
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They must have been inspired, these translators!\n\n\nI read in ANOTHER famous book once about people who pray to god:  Why? (pray) Who are YOU to Teach, and He to Learn?\n\nGood thoughts, these
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well I was a catholic ,then a Christain ,then an atheist and now I do agree with a lot of buddhist beliefs.Buddhism alwyas will put experience over scripture.Buddha was an enlightened person.nothing more.\n Buddhism accepts that science and spirtuality can coexist.......are in fact facets of the same "godhead"
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The Vietnamese Buddhists are of the Pure Land sect. They pay homage to Buddha and to Kwan Yin, the female Bodhisattva of Compassion. They believe in a heaven of sorts, the Pure Land. Of course they chant in Vietnamese and have certain rituals similar to other Buddhist sects. I have attended a Vietnamese Temple. They welcome other sects to their services, including Tibetan and Zen adherents.
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Read the Bible and pray.
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Read the Bible and Pray.
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Buddhists don't have their own language ! It's a religion ! Most will bow when meeting another person. Sometimes with the palms of the hands together in front of them. It's a sign of respect for the other person.
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great summary dba gregg\n\np.s. The Dhammapada is NOT "their holy book" but is one "scripture" that was passed down along with many others\n\nQuickly, \n\n> Do they live a simplistic life?\nSome do, and some don't.  People are individuals and categorizing them seems silly.  A Buddhist ascetic (monk?) on the other hand, you might think of as living a simpleR life (not simplistic).\n\n> The purpose of Buddhism?\nof buddhism? to propagate the teachings of the Buddha... the goal of [the teachings AKA dharma] which is to live life that's good for yourself and others (and ultimately achieve Nirvana).\n\n> Related to nature in any way?\nsure, "dharma" could be thought of as the teaching, or law of nature, or etc...  \n\nif you're talking about do they like to go camping or prance around naked in the woods, ummm... doubtful (though could be exceptions).\n\nsome buddhists like to be in nature, as do non-buddhists.  i bet some don't either.
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lol, what a coincidence. I was just doing some research on Buddhism. I am not sure if this will tell you specifically about Buddhist monks in Russia, but maybe this will start you on your way. Also, try Wikipedia.com\n\nhttp://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/Buddhism\n\nhttp://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=10789&article=Gyudmed+monks+built+the+prayer+wheel+in+the+Russian+Buddhist+Republic+of++Kalmykia\n\nhttp://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=3,1735,0,0,1,0\n\nhttp://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/3528/indexe.html
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Stupid question .. Only a silly people will ask this question .. You really know nothing about Buddhism dont you''\nhahahhahahahhahahahah\n\nWait , are you so dirty minded that you have nothing to joke about already ?\n\nPity you
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No, they do not. There are several reasons for this. The Buddha, like modern sociologists and psychologists, believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea have their origin in fear. The Buddha says: \n"Gripped by fear men go to the sacred mountains,\nsacred groves, sacred trees and shrines".\n\nPrimitive man found himself in a dangerous and hostile world, the fear of wild animals, of not being able to find enough food, of injury or disease, and of natural phenomena like thunder, lightning and volcanoes was constantly with him. Finding no security, he created the idea of gods in order to give him comfort in good times, courage in times of danger and consolation when things went wrong. To this day, you will notice that people become more religious at times of crises, you will hear them say that the belief in a god or gods gives them the strength they need to deal with life. You will hear them explain that they believe in a particular god because they prayed in time of need and their prayer was answered. All this seems to support the Buddha’s teaching that the god-idea is a response to fear and frustration. The Buddha taught us to try to understand our fears, to lessen our desires and to calmly and courageously accept the things we cannot change. He replaced fear, not with irrational belief but with rational understanding. \n\nThe second reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is because there does not seem to be any evidence to support this idea. There are numerous religions, all claiming that they alone have god’s words preserved in their holy book, that they alone understand god’s nature, that their god exists and that the gods of other religions do not. Some claim that god is masculine, some that she is feminine and others that it is neuter. They are all satisfied that there is ample evidence to prove the existence of their god but they laugh in disbelief at the evidence other religions use to prove the existence of another god. It is not surprising that with so many different religions spending so many centuries trying to prove the existence of their gods that still no real, concrete, substantial or irrefutable evidence has been found. Buddhists suspend judgement until such evidence is forthcoming.\n\nThe third reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is that the belief is not necessary. Some claim that the belief in a god is necessary in order to explain the origin on the universe. But this is not so. Science has very convincingly explained how the universe came into being without having to introduce the god-idea. Some claim that belief in god is necessary to have a happy, meaningful life. Again we can see that this is not so. There are millions of atheists and free-thinkers, not to mention many Buddhists, who live useful, happy and meaningful lives without belief in a god. Some claim that belief in god’s power is necessary because humans, being weak, do not have the strength to help themselves. Once again, the evidence indicates the opposite. One often hears of people who have overcome great disabilities and handicaps, enormous odds and difficulties, through their own inner resources, through their own efforts and without belief in a god. Some claim that god is necessary in order to give man salvation. But this argument only holds good if you accept the theological concept of salvation and Buddhists do not accept such a concept. Based on his own experience, the Buddha saw that each human being had the capacity to purify the mind, develop infinite love and compassion and perfect understanding. He shifted attention from the heavens to the heart and encouraged us to find solutions to our problems through self-understanding
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To start with, Christianity has a problem with any faith that does not conform to the doctrines set forth in their bible. Buddhism does not conform to their teachings in any way.\n\nFirst and foremost, the argument is that the bible does not recognizes Buddha as one of gods messengers. And if it is NOT in the bible, it is not the truth. \n\nChristians teach that there is one god and only one god.  => Buddhism teaches that there are many devas and none are worthy pf praise for they are just beings trapped in Samsara. (The cycle of life, death and rebirth.) \n\nChristians believe that Jesus was the son of god and thus, god himself. => Buddhists do not share this belief because gods are not omnipotent creators to be praised. \n\nChristians believe in a soul...a sprit that lives on after the death of the body => Buddhist do not. There is no self that lingers or move on or anything.  There is no 'self'. There is just the essence of the Chita. \n\nChristens believe in a heaven with their god  => Buddhist do not have a belief in heaven. \n\nChristians believe that Jesus died to free them of their sins.  => Buddhist do not believe in sin. There is karma, and only we can change the outcome our actions and thoughts will have on us, not some god.\n\nChristians believe that only the chosen will be liberated and go to heaven. => Buddhist believe that ALL beings can be liberated and attain enlightenment. \n\nChristians believe that the catalyst for their salvation is external to themselves, via god.  => Buddhist believe that the catalyst for enlightenment can ONLY be found within ourselves...our unborn Buddha Mind! \n\nThere are many other arguments, but these are the most prominent. \n\nI hope this helps.