[Essefsbyday]

Hi all,

If you are a beginner, don't be shy about asking the rest of the forum a question -and if we can, we will do our best to reply according to our own understanding.


With metta,

Aloka-D

[ugosanchezo]

i have several queries regarding buddhism and some of the beliefs
buddhist use words like gross etc to descibes the body and its functions for meditation
i can understand why they do this but in my case ibelieve the body and its functions
to be a miracle and find that im very hard pressed to be pessimistic about the wonderful
way we can live our life and experience life through our body.
also i would like the oppurtunity to discuss meditation with somebody who has practised for along time
i find meditating very good for my inner self but i fear i have or am not being balanced in my meditation
i am always meditating towards my inner self.
i also find myself contemplating evolution,its seems to me as all my past and previous experiences have led me to here
again his seems to go against any of my studying or thoughts on buddhism

[baritkello]

Hi mccoist, its really good to hear from you !


I don't know where you've done your research, but I think perhaps you might be misunderstanding Buddhism . I recommend that you read the transcript/ listen/or both to this excellent talk : "What is Buddhism "


http://www.dhammasukha.org/Study/Tal...T-MAR03-TS.htm


I'm not quite sure what you mean by meditating towards your inner self. It's not always a good idea to try to meditate without any instruction ...so I suggest that you seriously consider trying this Buddhist Meditation series on youtube.com given by a respected meditation teacher. The first one is the introduction.


Buddhist Meditation (1) Introduction


Regarding your comments on evolution, I'm not aware of Buddhism contradicting the theory of evolution.... and in fact the Buddha refused to answer questions about the nature of the universe.

With kind wishes,

Aloka-D

[ITYfl01c]

Hi mccoist, glad to hear from you. interesting name. What does it mean?

i have several queries regarding buddhism and some of the beliefs
buddhist use words like gross etc to descibes the body and its functions for meditation
i can understand why they do this but in my case ibelieve the body and its functions
to be a miracle and find that im very hard pressed to be pessimistic about the wonderful
way we can live our life and experience life through our body.

The purpose in words like gross can be a bit confusing at first. It is my experience that the real meaning is gross vs. subtle. The human body is deeply appreciated in one sense because it is the basis upon which all spiritual growth occurs. The idea is not pessimism towards the body, but to separate qualities from flaws. Because of this body we can think, meditate, and do many wonderful things. But also because of this body, and especially our attachment to feeding it, clothing it, and pleasing it so much that we are limited. I think it all depends upon context. Wonderful advantage, also we need to not cling to it too much. That's how I think of it anyway.

also i would like the oppurtunity to discuss meditation with somebody who has practised for along time
i find meditating very good for my inner self but i fear i have or am not being balanced in my meditation
i am always meditating towards my inner self.

What does meditating towards your inner self mean? Detaching from reality or deeper awareness of inner process? Detaching not usually the Buddhist technique, awareness would be right on target.

i also find myself contemplating evolution,its seems to me as all my past and previous experiences have led me to here
again his seems to go against any of my studying or thoughts on buddhism

I find that the concept of evolution very powerfully spiritually and to be in total accord with BuddhaDharma. Not sure where you are having conflict. I think evolution can be seen on multiple levels for individuals and groups of people, and any living creature. It can be seen in relation to the environment from different perspectives and relation to inner development. I wonder what it is that seems contradictory for you....

[zzarratusstra]

Hello everyone, my name is Adam, nice to meet you all and join this community.

I very recently have gotten into Buddhism. The more I read about it, the more I want to read more. Everything about it agrees with the way I see everything, and im surprised that I hadn’t come across it earlier in life. Im currently reading “Path to Englightenment” by the Dalai Lama, as well I have done a good amount of reading from Buddhanet.net.

I have a few questions that come to mind while ive been learning the basics. (as im sure many beginners do lol). If you guys have some answers and can share your insight, experience, knowledge, etc. that would be greatly appreciated! (also, if ive misunderstood or misinterpreted some of the things ive read, please correct me!)

1) There is a lot of mentioning on breaking free from the cycle of rebirth, yet I have not really read anything about what happens to “you” after you do? Do you/your conciousness carry on in some way in another plane? Do you simply cease to exist since there really is no “you”?
1.5) if based on 1, the answer you “cease to exist”, do all of us really want to achieve this goal? I look around the world and I do see much suffering. People and animals living in dire conditions, warding off starvation, illness, etc. But, my life personally has been filled with more good than bad. Obviously I have had sad moments and parts of suffering. But I have the luxury of living in Canada, where I never have to worry about starving, a roof over my head, etc. And if ceasing to exist or being reborn again are my choices, I would say I would like to be reborn again… Even if in a less-fortunate life-style. Perhaps is this me being ‘blind’/selfish/emotional clinging to ‘myself’?

2) If one can ascend beyond the effects of Karma, and/or make up for previous bad actions… Could someone with completely evil intentions not just adopt many Buddhist paths, go around being evil and committing evil actions intentionally, and then directly try to ‘make up’ for them afterwards, and/or put themselves out of the reach of Karma? (or, in order to truly be above karma’s effects, one has to be selfless and altruistic?)

3) What will bring about bad Karma? Does it have to be actions, or can thoughts merely bring about it? Basically, what im asking is, lets say im in a public place, and have some ‘bad thoughts’ on a stranger who walks by, and I think to myself “wow that person is really ugly looking”, but I do not say it… Would I still receive some small amount of bad Karma for the thoughts? Or would I have to actually act upon them and say to the person “you are ugly”, thus actually inflicting pain upon them, in order to receive bad karma? (can we truly avoid natural bad thoughts? If we acknowledge bad thoughts as they come to us, and tell ourselves that they are bad and we should not think that way, is that a reasonable response? Should one of our goals during meditation/practice try to become truly “pure hearted” where we never think bad thoughts? Is that possible?)

4) ive read things about “hell beings” “ghosts” and “gods”. Does this mean there are other planes/realms/parallel universes where these ‘beings’ exist? Or are they assumed to exist in our current universe, but out of our human senses?
4.5) if these things and other ‘realms’ do exist, do we have any evidence or reason to believe so? Many things ive read about Buddhism seem to suggest logical reasoning or evidence to support the beliefs… Is there either for believing in those beings/realms?

I will stop there for now, and perhaps ask some more questions later on as they come to mind. Any feedback is appreciated!

Thanks guys

[UHlVExs7]

Hello again Adam,

I will share my thoughts about your questions.

There is a lot of mentioning on breaking free from the cycle of rebirth,

I'm not quite sure what you mean by this....do you mean Nirvana?

1.5) if based on 1, the answer you “cease to exist”, do all of us really want to achieve this goal? I look around the world and I do see much suffering. People and animals living in dire conditions, warding off starvation, illness, etc. But, my life personally has been filled with more good than bad. Obviously I have had sad moments and parts of suffering. But I have the luxury of living in Canada, where I never have to worry about starving, a roof over my head, etc. And if ceasing to exist or being reborn again are my choices, I would say I would like to be reborn again… Even if in a less-fortunate life-style. Perhaps is this me being ‘blind’/selfish/emotional clinging to ‘myself’? Sounds like you're looking for an 'eternal soul' or something similar. Rebirth is said to be the result of clinging. Its our desires and habits which are constantly being reborn.

'Suffering' also means discontent, conflict, unsatisfactoriness, and generally refers to our mental state. How we deal with our circumstances, illness etc also depends on our mental state. Our circumstances can change at any time.

With regard to anatta (not - self)and rebirth, I recommend reading this for an alternative approach:

http://www.what-buddha-taught.net/Bo...nd_Rebirth.pdf



2) If one can ascend beyond the effects of Karma, and/or make up for previous bad actions… Could someone with completely evil intentions not just adopt many Buddhist paths, go around being evil and committing evil actions intentionally, and then directly try to ‘make up’ for them afterwards, and/or put themselves out of the reach of Karma? (or, in order to truly be above karma’s effects, one has to be selfless and altruistic?)
3) What will bring about bad Karma? Does it have to be actions, or can thoughts merely bring about it? Basically, what im asking is, lets say im in a public place, and have some ‘bad thoughts’ on a stranger who walks by, and I think to myself “wow that person is really ugly looking”, but I do not say it… Would I still receive some small amount of bad Karma for the thoughts? Or would I have to actually act upon them and say to the person “you are ugly”, thus actually inflicting pain upon them, in order to receive bad karma? (can we truly avoid natural bad thoughts? If we acknowledge bad thoughts as they come to us, and tell ourselves that they are bad and we should not think that way, is that a reasonable response? Should one of our goals during meditation/practice try to become truly “pure hearted” where we never think bad thoughts? Is that possible?) The Buddha said Karma is intention. If we carry out our negative intentions towards another person then they will probably respond with negativity towards us - resulting in more mental suffering for us and them.

Thoughts can become intentions which are then acted out. Otherwise theyre not important if we don't cling to them and take them too seriously. We can just let them go again.

Meditation can be about letting go and being aware in the present rather than striving to do anything. Thoughts are just thoughts, they come and go.

There are 3 short articles 'Karma', 'Karma and Growth' and 'Karma doesn't explain anything' which you might find interesting here:

http://www.unfetteredmind.com/articles/karma.php


ive read things about “hell beings” “ghosts” and “gods”. Does this mean there are other planes/realms/parallel universes where these ‘beings’ exist? Or are they assumed to exist in our current universe, but out of our human senses?
4.5) if these things and other ‘realms’ do exist, do we have any evidence or reason to believe so? Many things ive read about Buddhism seem to suggest logical reasoning or evidence to support the beliefs… Is there either for believing in those beings/realms? It is said that there are literal other 'realms' but they can also be interpreted as mental states.

Personally I find such beliefs are irrelevant to my practice in the here and now.

Ok, that's all for now. Perhaps someone else would like to comment.

[SarSerceSaice]

Thanks for your reply once again. I see I still have a lot to learn. I will read the links you have provided.

Thanks again