Maddie

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Everything posted by Maddie

  1. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

    Maddie replied to Maddie's topic in Buddhist Discussion

    Thought I would bump this topic and see if there are people out there with experience with this mantra. I am not really interested in talking about SGI but other sects of Nichiren are fine. Mostly interested in the mantra itself and people's experiences with it.
  2. The source? I guess that would be the New Testament of the Christian bible, and the four gospels specifically. lol
  3. Most of what I have learned up to this point has been from the Theravada point of view, so their take on it is that Arhats do not come back, that they are fully enlightened. The Mahayana view is different from what I learned but on the other hand I've recently been finding Mahayana practices seem to work for me much better than anything I did from the Theravada side, so who knows?
  4. Actually I think as science understands more about the cosmology of the universe the idea of large amounts of time and speculation about what happened before the big bang and how the universe ends seems to line up a lot with dharmic notions of Kalpas and the cyclical nature of existence.
  5. This earth and this Buddha Gotama are of course not that old, but what was being spoken of was not this earth, but other worlds and other universes and other Buddha's in the past. Buddhism teaches that the universe is born and ends immeasurable times and that there have been countless Buddhas in the past and that other worlds and solar systems and galaxies and universes have their own Buddhas as well. I remember one time I was reading this book I think it was set in the 70s and some westerners were at The meditation retreat center of some Tibetan Lama and one of them said what's the point of meditating if they could just drop the bomb any day? And the lama didn't even pause he said "they've already dropped the bomb so many times it's nothing new so just keep meditating".
  6. There are several reasons I do not think Jesus was a Buddha. First from what I have read in the Buddhists texts, it is not possible to kill a Buddha. Several people tried to kill the Buddha but it never worked, they were always unsuccessful. Jesus on the other hand was obviously killed, and quite brutally as well. Also the primary message of a Buddha is the Four Noble Truths. While Jesus taught plenty about compassion and forgiveness (which is good) he never taught the Four Noble Truths or any thing like that. The Buddha taught that everyone must ultimately save themselves and that no one else can do it for them. Jesus on the other hand taught that he could save people if they had faith in him.
  7. My understanding from the Pali Suttas is that Arahants also are completely liberated from Samsara and do not come back. The difference being that Arahants accomplish this under the instruction of a Buddha after he has already brought the Dharma to the world, where as a Buddha is the one that initially rediscovers the Dharma in a time and place where there is no Buddha Dharma. Buddhas also tend to have more wisdom and powers than Arahants.
  8. What if it is for and "end" that they are cultivating for?
  9. Jesus is someone I have been trying to make sense of from a cultivation pov for a while now. He seemed to have obtained some degree of cultivation.
  10. Not a "second coming". It is said that after the teachings from a Buddha fade out of the world that another Buddha eventual comes to reintroduce the dharma again, but its a new Buddha, not the same one.
  11. That would answer the question of what to do next then. ;-)

  12. Money

    Maddie replied to Mig's topic in Daoist Discussion

    Money or the lack thereof ultimately comes down to karma. The karma of plenty is having been generous. The karma of lack is having not been generous.
  13. To one that claims to not suffer I would have one of two responses. 1. They are fully enlightened and I would like to become their student. 2. They do not fully understand suffering or dukkha, which is understandable since "suffering" is not a perfect translation of dukkha. Dukkha can mean obvious acute suffering for sure, but it also means the unsatisfactoriness of life. To one who claims to never suffer I would ask, do you ever get bored, do you ever feel lonely, do you ever feel not totally satisfied at all times in all situations?
  14. The reason to become enlightened is to end suffering. The idea that one must be doing something to be happy is grasping and grasping leads to suffering. The whole point is to end suffering.
  15. Endlessness is the characteristic of Samsara which is a characteristic of the unenlightened mind. In the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta where the Buddha becomes awakened he says it is the end there is no more rebirth he has completed the path. The Buddha definitely described his path as the end, and he described endlessness as a type of suffering and as a characteristic of being unenlightened.

  16. Sutras as a practice

    Maddie replied to Maddie's topic in Buddhist Discussion

    I've also noticed lately that as I read more Mahayana sutras that they seem to make more sense to me, are easier to understand and seem more relevant. I don't want to disrespect Pali Suttas which I have read a lot of, but this seems to be my experience, though I'm not sure why.

  17. Sutras as a practice

    Maddie posted a topic in Buddhist Discussion

    I have recently begun as a practice listening to sutras being read on youtube. I have a lot of experience with meditation, mantras, and even reading sutras to learn them, but listing to them deliberately as a practice is new to me. I have found that I feel very fidgety while listening and I also feel like it is digging up old stuff to be dealt with. What I would like to know is if anyone is familiar with or has experience with this type of practice and could possibly offer any insight into the practice and its effects.
  18. Which text did you read that gave you that impression?
  19. I'm not a fully enlightened Buddha for one LOL.

  20. Martial Arts From Home

    Maddie replied to Orgasmic19's topic in General Discussion

    Oh? What's the other forum?

  21. Sutras as a practice

    Maddie replied to Maddie's topic in Buddhist Discussion

    That's fascinating, I've never heard that before!
  22. If he didn't answer your question how can I?
  23. When the Buddha was asked if there was a self he didn't answer, and if asked if there wasn't a self he didn't answer.

  24. Martial Arts From Home

    Maddie replied to Orgasmic19's topic in General Discussion

    I was curious if from a spiritual perspective if anyone feels they've made progress with martial arts and if so how so?

  25. Sutras as a practice

    Maddie replied to Maddie's topic in Buddhist Discussion

    It's weird but it seems as I experiment reading various sutras if I pay attention I can feel them having different effects.