Using Eastern spirituality to repress your individuality

[Apech]

You got that right bro. That said we have a Kadampa sect Cafe run by their nuns across from another sect cafe run by competing nuns in Leicester.They come round local shops and businesses drumming up custom and leaving menus. Loads of fun when you get one on the premises and a competing nun from the other sect walks in.

Talk about House of Flying Daggers or 'High Noon' .

If looks could kill!

One day it'll kick off and we'll have a nun-rumble out in the street.

When it does.. my money will be on the Kadampas. Their nuns are chunkier and look like they do martial arts (or heavyweight boxing maybe).

The other sect's lot are a wan, pasty crew, look like they need a good dinner or something equally hot inside of 'em.

 

I've always stayed clear of the New Kadampa ... not because of Dorje Shugden but because I was told they had quotas for new recruits ... which makes them kind fo evangelical.

 

Anyway your interest in nuns of all kinds does you credit ... especially those that need 'something hot inside them' ... maybe I've watched too many Ken Russel films

[3bob]

"Living Buddha, Living Christ", by Thich Nhat Hanh.

 

A Short review:

"If you have always assumed that Christianity and Buddhism are as far apart philosophically as their respective founders were geographically, you may be in for a bit of a surprise. In this national bestseller, Zen monk and social activist Thich Nhat Hanh draws parallels between these two traditions that have them walking, hand in hand, down the same path to salvation. In Christianity, he finds mindfulness in the Holy Spirit as an agent of healing. In Buddhism, he finds unqualified love in the form of compassion for all living things. And in both he finds an emphasis on living practice and community spirit.

The thread that binds the book is the same theme that draws many Christians toward Buddhism: mindfulness. Through anecdotes, scripture references, and teachings from both traditions, Nhat Hanh points out that mindfulness is an integral part of all religious practice and teaches us how to cultivate it in our own lives. Nhat Hanh has no desire to downplay the venerable theological and ritual teachings that distinguish Buddhism and Christianity, but he does cause one to consider that beyond the letter of doctrine lies a unity of truth".

 

(How dare a monk who claims to be a Buddhist more or less make associations using the terms "Buddha" and "Christ" in the same sentence via the title of his book and then go on to ponder about some of the related effects and meanings (aka dharmas) of the two religions, and thus risk being cast out by certain Buddhists who have their pulpits here at Tao Bums ?)

[zanshin]

Why is it that you didn't include a single question in your post ?

Was that a trick statement?

Evidently if you do have the right answers and you think you do have the right answers... well you're not wrong till you think about what's wrong... for every things was just right... till that point...

 

If you think you have the right answers and you do have the right answers Then would you be wrong for thinking you'r w

 

Because I didn't want to include any questions. Sometimes I can think about math questions and find the right answers or I can learn the right way to solve the problem. Talking about philosophy I am more interested understanding why others feel and think the way they do instead of judging it. Let's save these words think and right for math. Can you make posts without these words- right, truth, think and evolve?

[et-thoughts]

.

Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[et-thoughts]

.

Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[eye_of_the_storm]

Great stuff Jetsun + Apech + Aaron = Turtle Shell

 

I mean + Turtle Shell

 

haha

 

ANARCHY~!

 

 

Lets all be Kings!

 

Know Thyself!

 

Rule Thyself!

 

Edited October 16, 2012 by White Wolf Running On Air

[Apech]

"Living Buddha, Living Christ", by Thich Nhat Hanh.

 

...

 

(How dare a monk who claims to be a Buddhist more or less make associations using the terms "Buddha" and "Christ" in the same sentence via the title of his book and then go on to ponder about some of the related effects and meanings (aka dharmas) of the two religions, and thus risk being cast out by certain Buddhists who have their pulpits here at Tao Bums ?)

 

I recently watched on youtube a BBC programme which included the idea that Jesus went to Kashmir during the lost years when he was 14 - 29 (about which nothing is written) ... I found it quite convincing because the ethical stance and approach of Mahayana Buddhism and Christianity are almost identical (I think). So I have no problem at all with relating the two paths in many ways. Where I get a bit stuck is when you look at the Buddhist view of emptiness and having no God=Supreme Being ... while Jesus taught God= Father=Love ... so quite a big difference there. BUT I think the difference mainly affects the path and not the result. Also I feel that the distinction is Christianity vs. Buddhism and not so much Buddha vs. Christ.

 

I suspect that if you tried to mix the two paths then you might get confused ... but I have no real leaning towards Christianity (although some feeling for Jesus the man).

 

In the end I am a pragmatist ... does it work? is the only test I would apply. Each to his own.

[Aetherous]

I found it quite convincing because the ethical stance and approach of Mahayana Buddhism and Christianity are almost identical (I think).

 

Totally agree. It's interesting to me...one meaning of the word Dharma is "law", and pertains to making the right decisions in life, the middle way, which leads to peace. In that aspect, the two are also similar...in Christianity you follow the Law (do to others as you'd like them to do to you), walking through the narrow gate into the kingdom of heaven (which I've read simply means "peace").

 

There are a lot of differences between the two religions, but some aspects can be good. For instance, Christianity doesn't have tonglen...but it'd be a good practice for Christians. I view them both, at least in this area, to have the same aim.

[zanshin]

.

Edited October 16, 2012 by zanshin

[zanshin]

Sure... what be be what be!

 

edited to add ...

 

The reason I asked you is that you declared "I like questions better than answers." and thought you would like the questions while at the same time explaining why some choose not to include what they like better and focusing on something else... It just seemed a bit curious to me... wouldn't you agree?

 

I didn't actually say I liked questions though. I like doing 3 pages of long division problems better than eating a bowl of big bowl of slimy okra. So I don't agree, but I don't completely disagree either. Curiosity killed the cat, which is a stupid thing people made up, and cat is another word we made up. It is a good simple word that most people have a clear idea what it means better than truth. But the word cat isn't really a cat and calling a dog a cat doesn't make it one. But if everyone called dogs cats for a long time it would become the right word for a dog. A tiger is a type of cat now. So we need to clarify cat. Maybe a big, black, Halloween alley cat with a silver collar, these other words might help. But just the word cat, we might all very different picture in our mind. How do we know whose idea is right? Is there a universal cat? Words and ideas are inherently confusing subjective things.

[et-thoughts]

.

Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[et-thoughts]

.

Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[GrandmasterP]

When you could go to the beautiful lake country around Srinagar in Kashmir before all the trouble began one of the sights on the tourist circuit was 'Jesus' Tomb'.

[et-thoughts]

.

Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[et-thoughts]

.

Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[Apech]

who lies there? Who put it there?Oh the wonders of words multiple questions within a single form...

 

[zanshin]

I'll try another one. I like bathing in horse manure better than eating it. So this word like can mean different things too. Our brains like making choices from dichotomies, one is good and right, one is bad and wrong, but lesser of 2 evils can still be crap.

[et-thoughts]

.

Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[zanshin]

I thought I said I don't like dualities, of course i wouldn't really choose either both are horrid. I also don't choose western or eastern spirituality. People think they have to agree with some system though. You said you like right answers and truths; i don't have any of those. My point was you don't have to make choices if you don't know, keep open to potential. Choices and truth sticks, accepting uncertainty allows for flow. All manure is crap, but not all crap is manure.

[et-thoughts]

.

Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[idiot_stimpy]

Holding onto the belief that we 'experience', means you hold onto the belief that there is an 'experiencer'.

 

Seeing these thoughts as labels with no inherent meaning, the mind goes into meltdown.

[Cat Pillar]

Our interactions have focused on what is it we choose to cultivate and like... Why if one likes questions more than statements one uses statements more than question... maybe include what one likes more would demonstrate we actually like it...

 

I know I'm intruding on your discussion, and zanshin is in no need of defending...but this seems to be quibbling over such a minor thing. IMO, contextually, zanshin's statements about liking questions more than statements and the discussion that has followed has not been contradictory on her part at all. There is more to her position than the surface appearance of forum postings. It seems more like you're trying to pick a fight than have a discussion.

 

Why would one enliven uncertainty rather than certainty?

 

Certainty can be limiting. There is a kind of uncertainty that is more liberating than any solid conclusion could ever be.

[et-thoughts]

.

Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[zanshin]

Likes silence better than arguing. But now I'm going to watch the debate, do it seems like I must be an awful choice maker. Well the kids want to watch and I do like to roll my eyes and make snarky comments.

[et-thoughts]

.

Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts