[arriftell]

Hello!

My name is Adrienne, and I am very interested in learning more about Buddha and the practices in Buddhism for two reasons. First, I am a college student and I am finishing up my class on Religions of the World. Buddhism has peaked my interest the most, so I am writing about it. I would love to get as much information as possible about your personal experiences with Buddhism for my paper if you are open to it. I promise I will write with the utmost respect and understanding, and I would be happy to provide a copy of my final product if desired.

My second reason is one of personal curiosity. As I have studied this religion, I have read and observed so many similarities to my own beliefs. While there are practices and traditions which appear foreign, I am concluding the goals are quite familiar. Even after my class is completed, I would like to explore more.

Would any of you be open to helping me in this quest?

Thank you for your consideration, and I wish you many blessings.

adrienne

[CVEGK7mV]

I can not pretend to offer anything fantastic or even greatly interesting however I would be glad to try and answer any questions you may have from perspective within my tradition and lineage. Adrienne you should also note I make a lot of mistakes that should not reflect on Buddhism in general or my teachers in particular. Given this shoot away.............

Thank You

[dXI9XFOA]

Thank you so much! I am not looking for perfection just sincerity and honesty. Did you grow up in Buddhism?

[Extipletape]

No I am a convert. I formally converted, sought refuge when I was in my late 20's.
I was brought up as a Roman Catholic.

Thank You

[temansertewek]

How has your faith impacted and changed your life?

[beloveds]

It has fundamentally changed not just how I view/experience the world but how I interact with it in every aspect of my life.

Thank you

[Nurba]

How would you describe your life and your faith now?

[Eromereorybig]

I would not describe my life and faith as separate in any sense.

[r9tbayfC]

Did you grow up in Buddhism?

no. i grow up in Australia, with exposure to Catholism, although never being a believer

i found buddhism when i was 23 years old, travelling thru Asia. i visited a monastery as a tourist, read a book on meditation, and decided i wanted to obtain the peace of mind the book mentioned

[Arexytece]

Thank you both. I went to a Buddhist temple last week, and it was interesting to me. Do you practice a certain type of Buddhism and meditation? I guess I'm asking what are the things you do to exercise your faith and beliefs?

[ggdfgtdfffhfyj]

How has your faith impacted and changed your life?

realisation rather than faith. faith is not really relevant (apart from having convinction that anything Buddha has said is worth considering deeply)

my mind tasted peace during the 1st meditation retreat i did after reading the book. i did four consecutative retreats and after the 4th, my mind had no doubt that anything, apart from buddhist meditation, would be the basis for the rest of my life

[effenseshoora]

How would you describe your life and your faith now?

my life has changed since i practised meditation in the monastery/retreat centre because i later studied the actual teachings of Buddha that allowed my mind to see the world clearly. so, instead of preferring the monastery in Asia, i am happy to live back in Australia, with my family, and do a normal job

the Buddhist scriptures cover every aspect of human life, i.e. money, economics, social relationships, etc. thus, when the world is seen clearly, one can be in more harmony with it (rather than being overtly dependent upon meditation do obtain harmony)

[PrettyFifa12]

Do you practice a certain type of Buddhism and meditation? I guess I'm asking what are the things you do to exercise your faith and beliefs?

buddhism has many different schools

i use the original (Pali) scriptures as my guide. here, the practise is exercising mindfulness & wisdom. mindfulness means 'to remember', 'maintain' or 'recollect'. what is remembered & maintained in the mind is the wisdom taught by Buddha that ends suffering, leads to understanding & doing right/skilful action

[Thomas12400]

Thank you both. I went to a Buddhist temple last week, and it was interesting to me. Do you practice a certain type of Buddhism and meditation? I guess I'm asking what are the things you do to exercise your faith and beliefs?

I practice within the Vajrayana, Nyingma Lineage.
I practice in the Tantra, however this means by definition I must also practice in the Sutra.
I probably do all the same meditations as my Theravadin brothers and sisters but I also practice Tantric meditations and rituals.
The Tantra I am unable to discuss in particular terms.
my faith/beliefs are exercised in every facet of my life.

Thank You

[hoarrimilsora]

These are some additional questions I have if anyone would like to answer:
1. What would you say are the most important components of the Buddhism faith?
2. How has your faith impacted your life?
3. What holidays and celebrations do you observe?
4. In your own words, how would you summarize Buddhism?
5. What made you choose to follow Buddhism?
6. What are some of the challenges within practicing Buddhism?
7. What are the traditions of Buddhism, and how have these traditions changed over time?
8. What effect has the Western culture had on Buddhism?
9. How does karma and reincarnation work?
10. How would you compare Buddhism to other faiths?

[Vezazvqw]

1. What would you say are the most important components of the Buddhism faith? core buddhism is not a "faith". buddhism is a scientific diagnosis & explanation about the laws of nature pertaining to human suffering & the eradication of human suffering. the core component of buddhism, i.e., the most important component, is the diagnosis of how suffering occurs and, more importantly, the way of practise to live (& die) free from suffering

2. How has your faith impacted your life? reduced/eliminated suffering, confusion & unsatisfactoriness. brought peace, vision, understanding & contentment

3. What holidays and celebrations do you observe? personally, none. however, i do reflect on the meaning of the traditional buddhist holidays when they occur

4. In your own words, how would you summarize Buddhism? buddhism is a scientific diagnosis & explanation about the laws of nature pertaining to human suffering & the eradication of human suffering.

Buddha himself summarised his teachings as: "avoid evil (harming); do good (beneficial action); and purify the mind (from 'self-view')

5. What made you choose to follow Buddhism? i tried it out & it worked. if it did not work to bring peace & wellbeing, i would not choose it. if it does not work for you then try something else

6. What are some of the challenges within practicing Buddhism? for me, none. Buddhism explains the actual path to freedom from suffering. if it was not the actual path then it would be a challenge. because it works, for me, it is not a challenge.

7. What are the traditions of Buddhism, and how have these traditions changed over time? Buddhism began with the orthodox tradition, now commonly called "Theravada", although Theravada itself is an aberration. Theravada does preserve the original teachings in its scriptures but the Theravada doctrine is found in its commentaries which are for the most part an idiosyncratic interpretation of the scriptures. later other schools, such as the Mahayana schools emerged due to (1) contact with other cultures; and (2) expanding the scope of the audience, due to Theravada losing popularity in India

8. What effect has the Western culture had on Buddhism? not much

9. How does karma and reincarnation work? many Buddhist schools teach reincarnation but Buddha did not. Buddha taught about "rebirth", which means the mind "born again" in a state of suffering it must resolve. karma means 'action'. action performed with self-view reaps a result (called 'vipaka'). example, you do good action for another person but that person betrays you. although you did a good action, if there was self-attachment in that action, then your mind will reap suffering. but if that good karma was free from attachment then there will actually be no karmic result. karma is not actually a core Buddhist teaching. it is a teaching taught prior to Buddha. what Buddha taught uniquely was the "karma that ends karma". buddha taught the Noble Eightfold Path is the karma that ends karma.

10. How would you compare Buddhism to other faiths? Buddhism is the final evolution of what you are calling "faith". the evolution of "faith" accords with the evolution human insight rather than from relevations from "God". the evolution of modern religion began with morality, i.e., karma. the earliest modern religions, such as Judaism & Brahmanism (Hinduism) taught morality for the purpose of creating perfect societies (which never succeeded). then the Brahmins in India discovered the liberation of the human mind via the practise of unconditional love. then Buddha discovered the destruction of human suffering via emptiness of 'self'. Christianity was the introduction to the West of the law of liberation via love, hundreds of years after it was discovered in India. Islam was a reversion back to the moral laws of Moses. thus, the moral religions, such as Islam, try to minimise human suffering by keeping people moral. but morality alone cannot completely eradicate suffering. similarly, Christianity tries to minimise human suffering by keeping people moral & by teaching them to love unconditionally & to forgive. this brings much greater liberation of the human mind than the moral religions but it cannot fully eradicate suffering. only Buddhism, can fully eradicate suffering by instructing morality, unconditional love & emptiness of "self". where a faith does not encourage its followers to abandon "self-view", that faith cannot fully eradicate suffering.

kind regards

[DavidQD]

These are some additional questions I have if anyone would like to answer:

1. What would you say are the most important components of the Buddhism faith? The core components of Buddhism (I think faith is a little misleading) for me are the identification of suffering and why it occurs, how to alleviate that suffering through an application of the lord Buddha's teachings.

2. How has your faith impacted your life? It has made me happier and Kinder. I have more clarity, more energy and more freedom. I am less prone to fear and more prone to laughter.

3. What holidays and celebrations do you observe? I have four core observations during the Lunar month other than the usual holiday celebrations within the Vajrayana calendar (I do not always celebrate the usual ones) Although unless on retreat I always celebrate the monthly ones even if I am alone.

4. In your own words, how would you summarize Buddhism? It is the means to see clearly how the universe works (that includes us) why we suffer and how to no longer suffer.

5. What made you choose to follow Buddhism? I am not sure I really had a choice as such...how do you unlearn a truth? I could not unlearn its truth!

6. What are some of the challenges within practicing Buddhism? for me my challenges are laziness, stupidity, anger, pride, ego etc etc but within the Buddhist path all these stupid faults are also a means to learn and transcend suffering so the challenges are also the means, or the path.

7. What are the traditions of Buddhism, and how have these traditions changed over time? Wow massive question. In terms of teachings or Dharma With the greatest respect to my Theravadin brothers and sisters. I follow a school that considers the scriptures that were brought together initially sometime after the death of Lord Buddha (and held by most Theravadins as the definitive teachings) as only part of Lord Buddha's teachings. Many of us believe in contrast to many of our Theravadin brothers and sisters that Lord Buddha (and other Buddhas) have taught many methods to liberation.

8. What effect has the Western culture had on Buddhism? Wow another huge question....I suppose it depends what you really mean by Buddhism..If you mean real Buddhism the science of liberation then the answer is hardly any at all! However if you mean the Buddhism of temples and chat rooms of labels and appearances then lots.

9. How does karma and reincarnation work? I don't know....fully it's complexities however Karma is volition, having willed one acts with body speech and thought. reincarnation I have no comment on.

10. How would you compare Buddhism to other faiths? [/QUOTE]
I would not!!!! I have not the knowledge nor the intellectual prowess to fully comprehend my own 'faith' how then I am to compare one that I have neither studied nor practiced. There is a tendency for us to judge others and others faiths as this or that..normally as inferior. I do not fully understand all paths nor have I travelled them.
I could critique Christian theology and debate the right and wrongs of the Catholic church, this would be very easy for me. It would probably make me look superior, learned and pious in comparison however mystics like Henri Le Saux, swami Abhishiktananda was of that faith and that path as have many other great mystics and saints and I am not qualified to judge them, quite simply their compassion and wisdom are greater than mine. This can also be said of certain Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims etc ....

Thank You

[ordercigsnick]

Wow!!! Thank you both so much for your help on these questions! I do have more questions personally I will continue to post later. I am so grateful you shared your hearts, knowledge, and experiences with me.

Is it possible to be a Christian and follow the teachings of Buddha?

[wMceqj7F]

Hello afourgonly,

These are some additional questions I have if anyone would like to answer:
1. What would you say are the most important components of the Buddhism faith?

Buddhism is not about faith but confidence gotten through understanding, practice and results. At least, at the very source of Buddhist teachings -the Nikayas- you will find instructions for practice and the development of wisdom so to quench dukkha ('suffering').

But, latter on, traditions developed and they become a kind of religious philosophy but in essence the teachings of Gotama Buddha are not about neither philosophical riddles nor religious believes.

2. How has your faith impacted your life? I am not into faith issues.

3. What holidays and celebrations do you observe? I do not practice any sort of celebrations or holidays.

4. In your own words, how would you summarize Buddhism? This are not my own words but summarize perfectly well my understanding of what Gotama Buddha taught:

"Sabbe Dhamma nalam abhinivesaya = Nothing should be clung to".

5. What made you choose to follow Buddhism? It's scientific approach to the nature of mind.

6. What are some of the challenges within practicing Buddhism? Meditation.

7. What are the traditions of Buddhism, and how have these traditions changed over time? Mainly three: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. I really don't know how traditions have changed over time. In my case, religion or philosophical religions are not a field of interest. I am completely focused in the discourses given by Gotama Buddha. The source of what later has been called 'Buddh-ism'.

8. What effect has the Western culture had on Buddhism? I do not live in a 'Buddhist' country or a country where Buddhism is well developed. So I can't tell. I can just speak of my personal experience.

9. How does karma and reincarnation work? Karma is about the consequences of our thoughts, intentions and actions in this very present life. Others speculate about past lives and future rebirth/reincarnation. Originally, the teachings of Gotama Buddha do not accept reincarnation but latter on, like in Tibetan Buddhism a -branch of the Mahayana religion-, reincarnation is believed and explained in detail.

I respect does believes as an important practice for that tradition and if it works well for them, it is all right.

10. How would you compare Buddhism to other faiths? I don't think that the teachings given by Gotama Buddha can be compared to any kind of faith.

[eropiereetuekm]

I truly am humbled by the way you both took your time to answer these questions for me. I hope I can return this great favor to you both some day soon.