fanatical Buddhists

[JustARandomPanda]

I get so weary of always reading people telling other people to just get rid of their belief systems. I don't know HOW to get rid of my belief systems! Part of me thinks you'd have to be freakin' brain dead before you get rid of belief systems. The moment I think I'm 'gettin rid' of a belief system there's some other model that just gets swapped in it's place. When does it ever end?

 

So...because of certain experiences I've had...I can definitely say I'm no longer a Materialist. In it's place, due to what I've read are an assorted hodgepodge of Buddhist and Taoist beliefs that have filled the vacuum left by Materialism.

 

Yet everyone advises to just get rid of those belief systems. It's freakin hard folks! Have any of YOU succeeded in getting rid of all your beliefs? If so how many years did you have to cultivate in order to live Belief-Free 24/7?

[Vajrahridaya]

I get so weary of always reading people telling other people to just get rid of their belief systems. I don't know HOW to get rid of my belief systems! Part of me thinks you'd have to be freakin' brain dead before you get rid of belief systems. The moment I think I'm 'gettin rid' of a belief system there's some other model that just gets swapped in it's place. When does it ever end?

 

So...because of certain experiences I've had...I can definitely say I'm no longer a Materialist. In it's place, due to what I've read are an assorted hodgepodge of Buddhist and Taoist beliefs that have filled the vacuum left by Materialism.

 

Yet everyone advises to just get rid of those belief systems. It's freakin hard folks! Have any of YOU succeeded in getting rid of all your beliefs? If so how many years did you have to cultivate in order to live Belief-Free 24/7?

 

Well, like I said, if your belief is reflective of omniscience, which is a gradual process of widening depth of perception into nature, then you are like a Buddha, who does have a view, but is free from it. I don't think getting rid of beliefs is going to make one enlightened, just see through it while not being rigid about it. One should be confident in ones belief but understand that it arises dependently and has no self essence. One shouldn't be all insecure and bashful, one should be confident, but not rigid! Life is structure and all these... "you need to drop belief's" while reifying a view/belief in the non-conceptual as the super self standing ultimate, don't get how structure works on a deeply intimate level.

 

Did that make sense?

Edited July 12, 2011 by Vajrahridaya

[DalTheJigsaw123]

Buddhism has become just another religious belief system. Complete with exotic rituals, temples, a lifetime of reading books on the subject, rules and doctrinal proclamations. Even hell realms. All the trappings of a religion. Fanaticism can and will occur from this.

 

Instead of Buddhist practitioners being taught how to liberate their belief systems, more are added, ad infinitum.

 

Beautiful points!

[juju]

The Buddhist dogma presented here is nothing but mental masturbation. Cerebral arguments obtain nothing but more cerebral arguments, which are dogmatic and doctrinal. The heart mind is what addresses conditioned belief systems, cultural baggage and helps one discover one's real nature.

 

I wonder how large of a mountain of texts have accumulated over 2500 yrs. all of which are commentaries and speculation as to what the Buddha taught. What he taught was directly from the heart mind and has nothing to do with mountains of nuanced cerebral minutia.

 

In my opinion and personal experience: A belief system helps. It surely is nothing than a system. But as we are not yet able to look beyond the system (at least I am not), we need it. It is kind of a ladder which helps to go on the top of a house. Once we are on the roof, we can drop it.

 

And regarding the topic: I think this topic is very funny. I personally think VJ puts things very much to the point. I do not see him as fanatic. He writes his opinion, his experiences. Which mostly for me are very interesting.

Maybe - to make this more clear, and thus the ideas in his posts more easy to digest - he (and everybody else) could post every single time: in my personal, very very humble, tiny opinion

But writing personal opinions is anyway what everybody in here does. That is what a forum is for. And really: I personally feel VJ far less fanatic than some others.

 

Have a beautiful day

Edited July 12, 2011 by juju

[JustARandomPanda]

Life is structure and all these... "you need to drop belief's" while reifying a view/belief in the non-conceptual as the super self standing ultimate, don't get how structure works on a deeply intimate level.

 

Are you saying that people who advise to just "drop beliefs" are by default reifying a belief in a "non-conceptual self" that exists inherently?

 

At least that's how I'm understanding your statement.

[JustARandomPanda]

The heart mind is what addresses conditioned belief systems, cultural baggage and helps one discover one's real nature.

 

Ralis, could you speak further on this subject? How does the heartmind discover one's real nature?

[goldisheavy]

Ah I remember Osho!

 

Much more wise than a lot of elitist spiritual types make him out to be.

 

Exactly. When these elitist people crap on the New Age movement, they also crap on people like Osho. I don't agree with everything Osho said, but he was certainly a good voice to have in the discussion, saying many worthy, thought-provoking things. You don't have to agree with Osho's behavior or with every single thing he said in order to benefit from bits of wisdom like this one in the video.

[goldisheavy]

Are you going to give Keith Dowman credit for the cut and paste? I never mentioned the Karmapa or Dalai Lama, so why do you appeal to their authority to put me down? You must get a thrill in behaving that way.

 

Thrill? You're scaring the fuck out of Vaj. He doesn't like you questioning him or "his" tradition. He's merged with Buddhism to such an extent now, that if you question Buddhism you are questioning Vaj's own being. He's freaked that you are destroying his being. You're pulling the rug from under him. He's defending his turf and he's defending himself because he confused himself with the turf he stands on. He sees Buddhism as beautiful and precious and as something he'd hate to see gone. But it will be gone, and people like you and I hasten Buddhism's demise while preserving its inner wisdom. Alas, it's not easy to build one's identity on wisdom. It's much easier to associate with outward trappings which you can readily see and touch. Vaj doesn't want to die. Vaj wants to live forever. Buddhism living forever is Vaj's plan for immortality. It's his pension account.

[C T]

In my opinion and personal experience: A belief system helps. It surely is nothing than a system. But as we are not yet able to look beyond the system (at least I am not), we need it. It is kind of a ladder which helps to go on the top of a house. Once we are on the roof, we can drop it.

 

And regarding the topic: I think this topic is very funny. I personally think VJ puts things very much to the point. I do not see him as fanatic. He writes his opinion, his experiences. Which mostly for me are very interesting.

Maybe - to make this more clear, and thus the ideas in his posts more easy to digest - he (and everybody else) could post every single time: in my personal, very very humble, tiny opinion

But writing personal opinions is anyway what everybody in here does. That is what a forum is for. And really: I personally feel VJ far less fanatic than some others.

 

Have a beautiful day

 

Sometimes those who make it their purpose to eradicate fanaticism may also become mysteriously fanatical in their purpose to end fanaticism... Life is strange like that.

[thuscomeone]

Thrill? You're scaring the fuck out of Vaj. He doesn't like you questioning him or "his" tradition. He's merged with Buddhism to such an extent now, that if you question Buddhism you are questioning Vaj's own being. He's freaked that you are destroying his being. You're pulling the rug from under him. He's defending his turf and he's defending himself because he confused himself with the turf he stands on. He sees Buddhism as beautiful and precious and as something he'd hate to see gone. But it will be gone, and people like you and I hasten Buddhism's demise while preserving its inner wisdom. Alas, it's not easy to build one's identity on wisdom. It's much easier to associate with outward trappings which you can readily see and touch. Vaj doesn't want to die. Vaj wants to live forever. Buddhism living forever is Vaj's plan for immortality. It's his pension account.

There was a zen master, Harada Roshi, who once said that "once the need for buddhism is no longer apparent, true buddhism is manifesting itself."

[C T]

There was a zen master, Harada Roshi, who once said that "once the need for buddhism is no longer apparent, true buddhism is manifesting itself."

It sounds as if this Roshi had Taoist parents.

Edited July 12, 2011 by CowTao

[thuscomeone]

It sounds as if this Roshi had Taoist parents.

Ha. Probably.

 

It's from "the three pillars of zen" by Phillip Kapleau Roshi. In the section on Yaeko Iwasaki's enlightenment letters. A beautiful account of awakening if there ever was one.

Edited July 12, 2011 by thuscomeone

[goldisheavy]

I get so weary of always reading people telling other people to just get rid of their belief systems. I don't know HOW to get rid of my belief systems!

 

I don't think it's possible to get rid of one's core beliefs. It's only possible to change them. You'll always believe something. Even a committed nihilist maintains a coherent view of nihilism. If a true nihilist says "nothing is important" reply "then if that is so, why don't you start deeming something as important?" Then nihilist will have to reply, "No I cannot do that because it's important for me to believe that all views are unimportant." Oops...

 

So you can't get rid of core beliefs. If you stop talking about beliefs it doesn't mean your beliefs are gone. Professed beliefs are known to deviate from truly held beliefs. It's common for people to claim to believe things they really don't believe in their hearts of hearts, especially those people who have decided to fit in with some organized religion.

 

A reasonable first step is to try to become aware of your beliefs, and especially of your core beliefs. A second step is to critically examine those beliefs and see if they serve you well. See how well they match up to life experience. Do they lead to disappointment? During this process, even without consciously trying to find an alternative, a true alternative might spontaneously become apparent to you. As you engage in this process, the alternative and healthier core beliefs will seem more attractive and the old core beliefs will seem less attractive and less true. This of course assumes your core beliefs were not serving you well. It's also possible your core beliefs were actually perfect and that all you needed was just a bit more confidence to reject external doubts and to go with your core beliefs. No matter what, the process I am talking about here has huge benefits, in my opinion. But it is also a dangerous process because at times extreme questioning can make one despondent or insane. To me, it's all worth it, and it's the price of admission.

 

Part of me thinks you'd have to be freakin' brain dead before you get rid of belief systems. The moment I think I'm 'gettin rid' of a belief system there's some other model that just gets swapped in it's place. When does it ever end?

 

You are absolutely right!

 

So...because of certain experiences I've had...I can definitely say I'm no longer a Materialist. In it's place, due to what I've read are an assorted hodgepodge of Buddhist and Taoist beliefs that have filled the vacuum left by Materialism.

 

Yet everyone advises to just get rid of those belief systems.

 

Not everyone. "Get rid of all beliefs" is just pop-Zen.

Edited July 12, 2011 by goldisheavy

[3bob]

Ralis, could you speak further on this subject? How does the heartmind discover one's real nature?

 

Perhaps a saying from Sosan could be of use?:

 

"When the deep meaning of things is not understood the mind's essential peace is disturbed to no avail. The way is perfect like vast space where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess. Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject that we do not see the true nature of things. Live neither in the entanglements of outer things, nor in inner feelings of emptiness. Be serene without striving activity in the oneness of things and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves. When you try to stop activity to achieve passivity your very effort fills you with activity. As long as you remain in one extreme or the other you will never know Oneness. Those who do not live in the single Way fail in both activity and passivity, assertion and denial"

[mat black]

He sees Buddhism as beautiful and precious......... But it will be gone, and people like you and I hasten Buddhism's demise while preserving its inner wisdom.

Mate, you should really rethink what you've said here because - and this is about as 'assertive' as I'd ever get on this forum - it is waaaay out of line.

 

If you really understood Buddhism, you would not say this. Actually, the statement to bring about it's demise yet preserve it's wisdom is inherently contradictory.

 

If your statement had been said about any religion or tradition that promotes compassion, peace, wisdom, understanding and harmony - whether it be Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism etc - then it would also be an eroneous and dangerous thing to say.

 

Many genuine masters state that some of the basic purposes of Buddhism is to avoid causing harm to ourselves and others with our body speech and mind, to calm down the mind, become more peaceful, compassionate and to develop understanding of ourselves and others.

 

Anything that can lead us to this is good and Buddhism offers many methods as do other religions, according to ones' individual and cultural disposition.

 

Some ways of developing these qualities can be through certain practices, including rituals. If some people think that such practices and rituals are not nessecary for themselves that's fine BUT they should not be criticised and the benefits that people can derive from them should not be denied because they can and have helped many to open wisdom and compassion, allowing them to find inherent inner peace and spread that peace. When this has happened, such religions and traditions have been a means to benefit many many people as well as non-humans.

 

So to speak of bringing about Buddhisms' demise (or any religion that can benefit the world) is a diss-service to others as it could deter them from investigating and experiencing great benefit from Buddhism or other religions of their choice.

[Marblehead]

Great to see you Mat!!!

 

I have missed your input.

[ralis]

Sereneblue,

 

When I refer to liberating belief systems, I am talking about religious belief systems that are imposed in the guise of "the higher cause" and in this case Buddhism. Cultural mores, psychological perceptions that are just perceptions of a consensus reality i.e, group think and extreme amounts of interpretation in the form of texts that are allegedly attributed to what the Buddha taught. At first analysis, all this doctrine would seem innocuous to the psyche of the seeker. The problem becomes serious when the seeker identifies with the above impositions and those belief systems become concrete reality. There is an ocean of difference between the real wisdom of what the Buddha taught and the cerebral minutia that is passed on as Buddhism.

 

The 'Song of Mahamudra' that I posted earlier makes a valid point in regards to the limitations of language and all symbolic representation as to the nature of mind. Language is not an absolute description of an object and is not the object. This not only applies to physical reality but to so called spiritual teachings. In general, this is where spiritual seekers get into trouble. At first, the problems associated with semantics seem merely academic, but only a deeper psychological level, the problem with giving oneself over to a symbolic representation is fraught with problems. The symbolic in this case represents the authoritarian system as opposed to the real wisdom that is rarely given.

 

I just wanted to put out a few thoughts this morning before I head out to meet with clients. I can talk more about the 'heartmind' later. Not certain if what I wrote makes sense given the fact that it can be a dense subject.

 

GIH made some excellent points in regards to belief systems this a.m. I hope I did not give the impression that one must jettison all belief systems without discrimination. That would be unwise!

 

Later

Edited July 12, 2011 by ralis

[Birch]

Sereneblue,

 

When I refer to liberating belief systems, I am talking about religious belief systems that are imposed in the guise of "the higher cause" and in this case Buddhism. Cultural mores, psychological perceptions that are just perceptions of a consensus reality i.e, group think and extreme amounts of interpretation in the form of texts that are allegedly attributed to what the Buddha taught. At first analysis, all this doctrine would seem innocuous to the psyche of the seeker. The problem becomes serious when the seeker identifies with the above impositions and those belief systems become concrete reality. There is an ocean of difference between the real wisdom of what the Buddha taught and the cerebral minutia that is passed on as Buddhism.

 

The 'Song of Mahamudra' that I posted earlier makes a valid point in regards to the limitations of language and all symbolic representation as to the nature of mind. Language is not an absolute description of an object and is not the object. This not only applies to physical reality but to so called spiritual teachings. In general, this is where spiritual seekers get into trouble. At first, the problems associated with semantics seem merely academic, but only a deeper psychological level, the problem with giving oneself over to a symbolic representation is fraught with problems. The symbolic in this case represents the authoritarian system as opposed to the real wisdom that is rarely given.

 

I just wanted to put out a few thoughts this morning before I head out to meet with clients. I can talk more about the 'heartmind' later. Not certain if what I wrote makes sense given the fact that it can be a dense subject.

 

GIH made some excellent points in regards to belief systems this a.m. I hope I did not give the impression that one must jettison all belief systems without discrimination. That would be unwise!

 

Later

 

 

Excellent post Ralis!

 

I think a lot of mundane 'belief-systems' fall down or cause harm in the face of reality. An example might be that one can expect to stay at the same corporate job for life today or that your bank manager is really looking out for your interests ;-). I think we (me?) tend to want go 'higher' all too fast and talk about 'love' and 'self' and things when there are belief-systems that could do with being binned for very practical reasons like health and financial sanity and good relationships with self and others.

 

Are all belief systems tied into your sense of identity? Well, here's where my understanding of 'no-self' works it for me (and not the other way around) Since I am NOT this collection of beliefs, I can drop them in the face of reality without any real discomfort. And even if it turns out that I AM this collection of beliefs, if can drop them in the face of reality without discomfort then where's the problem? I guess it's a problem if I want it to be.

 

I mentioned in a post to TaoMeow about the idea of 'going hunting' for all my lost time. Should I also go hunting for all my erroneous beliefs? Or wait quietly and pounce on them when I see them show up and cause me or others harm in the face of reality? Sometimes I don't think they're all (the beliefs) going to show up at once because there's nothing real for them to break against. Besides, I went through a real period of 'shit hitting the fan' with this stuff so I'm quite glad for the break :-)

[JustARandomPanda]

So glad to see you here Mat. I so wish you would post more often but I understand you probably are busy spreading the 4 Immeasurables to the beings around you in everyday RL.

 

I, too, do not wish to see the end of traditional Buddhism. I've read it said that when the Dharma-Ending-Age begins the first of the written wisdoms to disappear will be the Shurangama Sutra. I own an 8 volume set of the Shurangama complete with line-by-line commentary by the Master Hsuan Hua.

 

He made 18 Great Vows.

 

Some examples:

 

"I vow that as long as there is a single Shravaka in the three periods of time throughout the ten directions of the Dharma Realm, to the very end of empty space, who has not accomplished Buddhahood, I too will not attain the right enlightenment."

 

"I vow that as long as there is a single human being in the worlds of the ten directions who has not accomplished Buddhahood, I too will not attain the right enlightenment."

 

"I vow that as long as there is a single animal who has not accomplished Buddhahood, I too will not attain the right enlightenment."

 

"I vow that all of my vows will certainly be fulfilled."

 

and after the 18 he ended with

 

I vow to save the innumerable living beings.

I vow to eradicate the inexaustible afflictions.

I vow to study the illimitable Dharma-doors.

I vow to accomplish the unsurpassed Buddha Way.

 

note: I have no clue of what a Dharma-door is but it must be important if Master Hua made a vow about it.

 

 

 

Now, if it were not for Master Nan and his commentary on other Buddhist Sutras/Suttas I would not understand the great significance of what Master Hua is doing here. Apparently, if one cultivates deeply enough one will become aware of a special Vow Form Realm. Vows are important! Very important. When you make a vow a special form realm comes into being and will have certain effects on you. No one will achieve Buddhahood who is not capable of making and keeping vows. And making cavalier vows (and breaking them) is something preferably avoided if possible.

 

But if traditional Buddhism disappears - this kind of wisdom will also disappear. I suspect very few people will be able to cultivate to a high enough level to discover this Vow Form Realm on their own without having great amounts of merit built up. I suppose it is possible and in practice that's precisely what the Buddha himself wanted us to do - discover it for ourselves. But if the traditional teachings disappear people may make cavalier vows and break them (because vows are no longer taken seriously in today's society) and could possibly be doing themselves greater harm for their future than they know.

 

And if the Dharma-Ending-Age begins this kind of wisdom will disappear.

[3bob]

Its sad when people have to die suddenly, and without any buffer to make the transition less traumatic than it already is. Many do in fact die this way, and when you see the faces of those who met with sudden, violent deaths and do a comparison with those who have generated the merits to pass on within an integrated, reassuring surrounding, you will see the difference in both contexts.

 

Naturally, on a more ultimate level, we all leave the physical plane alone. That is only one side of the deal. With the right support, it gets 'easier' upon entering the other side.

 

I can recommend a very insightful book here if you are interested to explore the death process further -

The Illustrated Tibetan Book of the Dead by Stephen Hodge and Martin Boord.

http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Tibetan-Book-Dead-Reference/dp/0806964316

 

A handy reference for those who want to go prepared. (no pun intended).

 

Hello CowTao,

 

What percentage of Buddhists do you think believe in a particular someone or "soul"

going to the other side (?) as implied in yours words:

 

"That is only one side of the deal. With the right support, it gets 'easier' upon entering the other side"

 

I ask that because I've heard some "Buddhists" (or maybe those claiming to be Buddhists?) make the word "soul" and certain meanings related to it sound like it is used by the foolish, deluded, stupidly hopeful, misled and religiously challenged people who are following ways that are far less than what the members of Buddhism follow and who thus by forgone conclusions absolutely know the real truth about such meanings and are empowered to look down upon and easily refute -out of hand- those that have illusions about such meanings other than what they have. To me such a situation is strange since in some forms of Buddhism particular souls like Quan Yin are said to stay on the other side compassionately helping countless beings for countless eons!

 

Om

Edited July 12, 2011 by 3bob

[goldisheavy]

Should I also go hunting for all my erroneous beliefs?

 

I like this question a great deal and I think it's very important. My personal answer to it is that basically, no, you don't go hunting for all your erroneous beliefs. That's not going to work. What I believe one should do is cultivate 24/7 mindfulness (an opposite quality would be mindlessness, absentmindedness, roboticness and zombieness), and then live life with a presence of mind. Then when a pain point arises, see into it very deeply right then and there! Right then and there you should see what's happening. You should see what is the nature of the pain, why it hurts, what beliefs support the pain and so on.

 

You may not see all of the details and supporting context right away, but you'll see quite a bit right away if you make mindfulness a habit. Then when you have a chance, you can bring up a recent pain point in meditation. You can bring it up in your mind's eye, relive the pain one more time, and as you relive the painful even in meditation, you can gain a lot more insight into it, including at least some of the core beliefs that contextualize it. You may not discover everything right away, but you should find enough to make the practice useful. As the painful event becomes more and more of a distant memory, it becomes less valuable for this kind of practice. This practice works best with relatively recent, fresh events, or with anxieties and concerns that always exist as a kind of psychological undercurrent at all times (if this is true for you). Of course if you are profoundly relaxed most of the time, you won't have an undercurrent of anxiety, and there is no need to invent problems if they aren't there.

 

Or wait quietly and pounce on them when I see them show up and cause me or others harm in the face of reality? Sometimes I don't think they're all (the beliefs) going to show up at once because there's nothing real for them to break against.

 

Exactly. Well said! Deep beliefs are not necessarily obvious until life circumstances or other beliefs contradict them in some significant (and often painful) way.

 

Besides, I went through a real period of 'shit hitting the fan' with this stuff so I'm quite glad for the break :-)

 

Breaks are important and so are naps.

Edited July 12, 2011 by goldisheavy

[JustARandomPanda]

I just wanted to put out a few thoughts this morning before I head out to meet with clients. I can talk more about the 'heartmind' later. Not certain if what I wrote makes sense given the fact that it can be a dense subject.

 

I look forward to hearing more about this particular topic from you. I have not yet awakened or opened my heartmind (I think) so I'm very interested in this subject.

[Vajrahridaya]

Are you saying that people who advise to just "drop beliefs" are by default reifying a belief in a "non-conceptual self" that exists inherently?

 

At least that's how I'm understanding your statement.

 

When they take that up as ultimate enlightenment. As no view is still a view.

 

The problem with these boards and these armchair pundits who say they don't need any rituals that have specific purposes and meanings as well as outcomes or practices of any sort, are really just turning spirituality into an intellectual game. Sure, there is jhana yoga, but if that was all that came of all this, was just pushing concepts at each other in the hopes of realizing the nature of things, then that would be a great disservice.

 

This is where people get fanatical in their religion destroying mentalities, which is actually dangerous, somewhat like Jiddu Krishnamurti. Yes, they have some nice things to say that are important, but they are incomplete teachings that just go for some sort of ultimate no view, or ultimate system of anti-belief as if it were a self of all. Religions should be purified, cleared, people should do the inner work which the exemplars have revealed through their fruition bodies. Maybe names will change, or evolutions will happen, but with a mentality to destroy them? Then what would we do? The time occupying traditions of coming together to chant, and sing under a beautifully adorned roof is part of the zest of life! Even after liberation, masters still continue to do beautiful rituals with colors and symbolic tools of ritual, because it's good for the living brain, and the living body to do so, that is why.

Edited July 12, 2011 by Vajrahridaya

[Vajrahridaya]

 

Sometimes those who make it their purpose to eradicate fanaticism may also become mysteriously fanatical in their purpose to end fanaticism... Life is strange like that.

 

Interesting, isn't it? Projection then reification of the reflection.

[goldisheavy]

Now, if it were not for Master Nan and his commentary on other Buddhist Sutras/Suttas I would not understand the great significance of what Master Hua is doing here. Apparently, if one cultivates deeply enough one will become aware of a special Vow Form Realm. Vows are important! Very important. When you make a vow a special form realm comes into being and will have certain effects on you. No one will achieve Buddhahood who is not capable of making and keeping vows. And making cavalier vows (and breaking them) is something preferably avoided if possible.

 

The essence of what you are saying is twofold:

 

1. Resolve matters. When you make a serious vow, you are demonstrating (mostly to yourself) the strength, the depth, the sincerity, and the tenacity of your resolve. It is a way for you to convince yourself beyond doubt that you are truly serious, that your resolve is diamond-like. It's also a way to give your dream a more concrete shape.

 

2. It's the nature of mind to manifest whatever you resolve on.

 

Buddhism is not the only system of thought that teaches this kind of wisdom. Hindus teach the same thing, for example. I am sure others teach a similar set of ideas.

 

But if traditional Buddhism disappears - this kind of wisdom will also disappear.

 

Wisdom will never completely disappear. Wisdom can be difficult to recognize, but it's never completely absent. Enjoy the wisdom you find in Buddhism and make the most of it, because Buddhism is not going to last forever.

 

Knowing that this human life does not last forever causes you to appreciate the opportunities in this life.

 

Knowing that Buddhism does not last forever causes you to appreciate the opportunities in Buddhism.

 

It is the nature of all things to change. At some point things change beyond recognition. That's only natural. All things are cyclic. There is nothing to fear and there is nothing to hang on to. Or let me put it this way, if you want to hang on to Buddhism, make all the best that's in it emblazoned on your heart and share without reservation.

 

But be vigilant. Not everything in Buddhism is great. You'll never learn anything of significance if all you do is emulate, copy and follow. Do some of your own thinking and feel free to question everything.

Edited July 12, 2011 by goldisheavy