Practical Buddhism

Originally posted by lil bitchiness
Seriously, if you have the time, read the whole lot

Because where its supposed to be scary, the punchline, the bit where it was supposed to make me see the error of my ways, fails and turns very very funny.

JIA - I believe in Jesus. Jesus is a historical figure who is said, historically existed. I also believe in Karl Marx - he was also a historical figure.

But do you accept His payment of your sins and His unconditonal love for you? You know lil...Jesus Christ is REAL.

...sometimes people just refuse to get it.

Originally posted by JesusIsAlive
But do you accept His payment of your sins and His unconditonal love for you? You know lil...Jesus Christ is REAL.

The idea that something other than ourselves controls our destiny can in one sense be seen as a form of avoidance—a rationalization to escape facing and challenging real problems and suffering. It may also be an expression of a deep, subconscious sense of helplessness.

Buddhism teaches the solution to human suffering and provides a way to overcome or transform this sense of helplessness. Ultimately, it teaches that the cause of misery lies not with any external force or circumstance, but with ourselves. Buddhism looks nowhere beyond the sufferer for both the cause and the solution to suffering.

According to Shakyamuni Buddha: “If a person commits an act of good or evil, he him-self becomes the heir to that action. This is because that action actually never disappears (Udana).”

The Sanskrit word karma means action. And Buddhism divides the actions that constitute karma into three categories: actions of the body (behavior), actions of the mouth (speech, language) and actions of the mind (thoughts).

Buddhism teaches the eternity of life; that we have lived countless lives already. This means that we are not born as blank pages, but pages on which countless impressions have already been made. According to Buddhism, life is forever existing in the cosmos; sometimes it is manifest and sometimes latent. Just as when we sleep and then awaken; our conscious mind awakens and our body feels refreshed. Between the sleeping and awakening, our consciousness carries on in a sub-conscious state. Similarly one's life continues eternally in alternating states of life and death. Death is as much a part of living as sleep is part of the process of living.

Karma is thus the accumulation of effects from the good and bad causes that we bring with us from our former lives, as well as from the good and bad causes we have made in this lifetime, which shapes our future. Karma is a Sanskrit word that means 'action'. Karma is created by actions - our thoughts, words and deeds - and manifests itself in our appearance, behavior, attitudes, good and bad fortune, where we are born or live - in short, everything about us. It is all the positive and negative influences or causes that make up our complete reality in this world.

Unlike some other philosophies though, Buddhism does not consider one's karma or destiny to be fixed; since our minds change from moment to moment, even the habitual and destructive tendencies we all possess to varying degrees can be altered. In other words, Buddhism teaches that individuals have within themselves the potential to change their own karma or destiny. We are the architect of our own lives. We are responsible for our happiness(i.e.salvation) and unhapiness. No one can do it other than yourselves.

Originally posted by JesusIsAlive
"It doesn't matter how good he was. He is in this place because he did not believe in the Eternal God."

Ah, and that is one of my Eternal Problems with Christian claims. That phrase makes me feel less then receptive to the whole shebang.

Let me ask you JesusIsAlive - would you be Happy for me to post similar tales in the Christian threads - tales about Christians who found truth with other religions? Allah, Buddha, Ganesh? Because there are just as many of them out there.

"Oh, I was a blind and zealous Christian, then one day a vision showed me the lies and I learnt to the truth path was with *insert God/gods name here*"

Originally posted by JesusIsAlive
The Remarkable Testimony of a Buddhist monk in Myanmar (Burma) who came back to life a changed man!

Don Piper dies and comes back!

It looks like a very similar story. I would surmise that both individuals must have suffered severe brain damage. I would also surmise that the brain damage is consistent among those that have an extended period where oxygen is lacking in the brain.

By the way JIA, have you ever read the Tibetan Book of the Dead? The Buddhists are one of the best documented "near death experience" or die and come back religions in the world. I believe that "delok" is a common term meaning "passing away and returning", and I think your few references to NDE are very minuscule compared to the Buddhist documents of such occurrences that sometimes result in the individual becoming near fanatical in their desire for others to become enlightened.

The Bible teaches that our soul is eternal and we will be judged according to our works, by the word of God (Matthew 10:28; 1 Corinthians 15:45; Romans 2:16; 2

Corinthians 5:10). The difference between humans and animals is humans have an eternal soul, animals do not. Yet Buddhism teaches all life, human and animal, is of the same value. Buddhism also teaches reincarnation, which is a continual rebirth. These views are in conflict with the Bible. The Bible is true. Therefore these doctrines of Buddhism are false.

Conclusion

Buddhism stresses self-dependence and self-salvation. It cannot be true because it is a religion from man (Matthew 15:8,9,13-15). Christianity is far superior to any other religion in the world. It offers forgiveness of sins through our obedience to Christ (Hebrews 5:8,9). The only hope this world has is through Christ (Ephesians 2:12; John 14:6; 1 Thessalonians 1:9). Those who established these Eastern religions have died and are still dead. Jesus died and rose from the dead never to die again (Romans 1:4).

May God help each of us to use every opportunity to preach the gospel of Christ to those who practice and follow Buddhism, and give those who have good and honest hearts the opportunity to believe and obey the gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Romans 1:16).[26]

http://www.tftw.org/Articles/buddhism.html

Originally posted by JesusIsAlive
The Bible teaches that our soul is eternal and we will be judged according to our works, by the word of God (Matthew 10:28; 1 Corinthians 15:45; Romans 2:16; 2

Corinthians 5:10). The difference between humans and animals is humans have an eternal soul, animals do not. Yet Buddhism teaches all life, human and animal, is of the same value. Buddhism also teaches reincarnation, which is a continual rebirth. These views are in conflict with the Bible. The Bible is true. Therefore these doctrines of Buddhism are false.

[b]Conclusion

Buddhism stresses self-dependence and self-salvation. It cannot be true because it is a religion from man (Matthew 15:8,9,13-15). Christianity is far superior to any other religion in the world. It offers forgiveness of sins through our obedience to Christ (Hebrews 5:8,9). The only hope this world has is through Christ (Ephesians 2:12; John 14:6; 1 Thessalonians 1:9). Those who established these Eastern religions have died and are still dead. Jesus died and rose from the dead never to die again (Romans 1:4).

May God help each of us to use every opportunity to preach the gospel of Christ to those who practice and follow Buddhism, and give those who have good and honest hearts the opportunity to believe and obey the gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Romans 1:16).[26]

http://www.tftw.org/Articles/buddhism.html [/B]

Your Christian ideas do not belong here, please do not post in this thread.

The Causal Law of Life
I hope you will read this letter over and over again together with Toshiro’s wife. The sun dispels darkness, no matter how deep. A woman’s heart may be likened to darkness, and the Lotus Sutra to the sun. A baby may not always recognize its mother, but a mother never forgets her own baby. Shakyamuni Buddha may be likened to the mother, and a woman to the baby. If two people long for each other, then they will never be parted. But though one person yearns for the other, if the other does not feel the same way, then they will be united at times but separated at others. The Buddha may be likened to the one who always longs for the other, and a woman to the one who does not. But if we truly yearn for Shakyamuni Buddha, how could he ever fail to reveal himself to us?

You may call a rock a jewel, but that does not make it one. You may call a jewel a rock, but it remains a jewel. In our age, the doctrines of the Nembutsu and other sects that are based upon the Buddha’s provisional teachings are all like rocks. People may say that the Nembutsu is equal to the Lotus Sutra, but that does not in fact make it so. And people may slander the Lotus Sutra, but that does not affect it any more than calling a jewel a rock affects the jewel.

In the past there was an evil ruler in China named Emperor Hui-tsung.1 Led astray by Taoist priests, he destroyed Buddhist statues and sutras and forced all the monks and nuns to return to secular life until not one remained in the religious calling. Among the monks was one named the Tripitaka Master Fa-tao who refused to be cowed by the imperial command. As a result, he was branded on the face and exiled to the region south of the Yangtze River. I was born in an age when the rulers put their faith in the Zen sect, which is as erroneous as the doctrine of Taoists, and I too, like Fa-tao, have met with great difficulties.

You two women were born as commoners and now live in Kamakura, [the seat of the government,] yet you believe in the Lotus Sutra without concern for the prying eyes of others or the danger it may pose for your lives. This is nothing short of extraordinary. I can only imagine your faith to be like the jewel that, when placed in muddy water, miraculously cleanses it. You are like someone who, when taught something new by a wise man, believes his every word and thus grasps the truth. Is this because Shakyamuni Buddha and the bodhisattvas Fugen, Yakuo and Shukuoke2 are dwelling in your hearts? This is what the passage of the Lotus Sutra means when it says that if in the land of Jambudvipa one is able to believe in this sutra, then that is due to the power of Bodhisattva Fugen.3

A woman is like a wisteria, a man like a pine. The wisteria cannot stand for a moment if it is separated from the pine tree that supports it. And yet, in this turbulent age, when you do not even have servants you can rely on, you have sent your husband here [to Sado Island]. This shows that your sincerity is deeper than the earth, and the earthly gods must certainly realize this. Your sincerity is loftier than the sky, and the heavenly gods Bonten and Taishaku must also be aware of it. The Buddha taught that people from the very moment of their birth are accompanied by two messengers, Dosho (Same Birth) and Domyo (Same Name),4 who are sent by heaven and who follow them as closely as their own shadows, never leaving them even for an instant. These two take turns ascending to heaven to report the person’s offenses and merits, both major and minor, without overlooking the slightest detail. Therefore, heaven must know about your sincerity. How encouraging! How reassuring!

Nichiren (seal)

The Fourth Month, 9th year of Mon'ei (1272)

Reply to the wife of Shijo Kingo

Footnotes:

Hui-tsung (1082-1135): Eighth ruler of the Sung dynasty in China. He ascended the throne in 1100 but took little interest in ruling, devoting his energies instead to calligraphy and painting. His religious policy was to eradicate China's native Taoism and destroy Buddhism. In 1127, his dynasty (Zoruthegn Sung) was overthrown by the Jdrched (Chin) state.
Shukuoke: Bodhisattva who appears in the Yakuo (23rd) chapter of the Lotus Sutra to play the role of questioning the Buddha. In this chapter, Shakyamuni Buddha orders Bodhisattva Shukuoke to protect the Lotus Sutra with his occult power.
Lotus Sutra, chap. 28.
Dosho and Domyo: Two heavenly messengers said to dwell on one's shoulders from the time of one's birth and to observe his every act. They symbolize the workings of the law of cause and effect in life.

Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol 2.

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Your Christian ideas do not belong here, please do not post in this thread.

Then with all due respect Shak. why do you post anti-Christian remarks like this in my threads (and you have done it frequently).

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
^ What a pile of garbage. 😆

Originally posted by JesusIsAlive
Then with all due respect Shak. why do you post anti-Christian remarks like this in my threads (and you have done it frequently).

Shaky does not present Buddhist or derogatory remarks in "this is what I believe" type threads. Your threads are typically attacks at others views, if you attack someone, it is reasonable to expect such a response.

Originally posted by Regret
Shaky does not present Buddhist or derogatory remarks in "this is what I believe" type threads. Your threads are typically attacks at others views, if you attack someone, it is reasonable to expect such a response.

What?!?

he doesn't make anti christian remarks

More like USE your brain and think remarks, rather than copy and paste propoganda left right and centre.

He does not go and say that christianity is wrong and you should worship Buddha. YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON HERE who is doing nonesense like that.

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Your Christian ideas do not belong here, please do not post in this thread.

Then with all due respect Shak. why do you post anti-Christian remarks like this in my threads (and you have done it frequently).

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
^ What a pile of garbage. 😆

Shak. cannot answer for himself?

Originally posted by JesusIsAlive
Then with all due respect Shak. why do you post anti-Christian remarks like this in my threads (and you have done it frequently).

Because you have dozens of threads that all say the same thing. I will give you one thread that I will leave alone, but stay off of this thread.

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Because you have dozens of threads that all say the same thing. I will give you one thread that I will leave alone, but stay off of this thread.

First off you will not dictate to me where I post.

Originally posted by JesusIsAlive
Then with all due respect Shak. why do you post anti-Christian remarks like this in my threads (and you have done it frequently).

Shak. cannot answer for himself?

You are a mean person.

Originally posted by JesusIsAlive
First off you will not dictate to me where I post.

This thread is for people to come and read about my religion not yours. I started this thread.

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
You are a mean person.

Originally posted by Nellinator
You know that you [i.e. Shakyamunison] make remarks testing people's patience and temper sometimes. But unlike some you use very polite language so that if someone were to lash out at you they would be the accused even though you provoke it....

So Shak plays mind games?

Are you saying that Shak. says whatever he wants to people then when someone says "one", little thing back to explain their position, he starts accusing him/her of hate or of being mean?

Or he hides behind Ushgarak? Is that what happens?

Reported

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Here is a gosh from "The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin"
This is the fundamental doctrine of my religion

On Attaining Buddhahood
- Issho Jobutsu Sho -

If you wish to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death you have endured through eternity and attain supreme enlightenment in this lifetime, you must awaken to the mystic truth which has always been within your life. This truth is Myoho-renge-kyo. Chanting Myoho-renge-kyo will therefore enable you to grasp the mystic truth within you. Myoho-renge-kyo is the king of sutras, flawless in both letter and principle. Its words are the reality of life, and the reality of life is the Mystic Law (Myoho). It is called the Mystic Law because it explains the mutually inclusive relationship of life and all phenomena. That is why this sutra is the wisdom of all Buddhas.

Life at each moment encompasses both body and spirit and both self and environment of all sentient beings in every condition of life, as well as insentient beings -- plants, sky and earth, on down to the most minute particles of dust. Life at each moment permeates the universe and is revealed in all phenomena. One awakened to this truth himself embodies this relationship. However, even though you chant and believe in Myoho-renge-kyo, if you think the Law is outside yourself, you are embracing not the Mystic Law but some inferior teaching. "Inferior teachings" means those other than this sutra, which are all provisional and transient. No provisional teaching leads directly to enlightenment, and without the direct path to enlightenment you cannot attain Buddhahood, even if you practice lifetime after lifetime for countless aeons. Attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime is then impossible. Therefore, when you chant the Mystic Law and recite the Lotus Sutra, you must summon up deep conviction that Myoho-renge-kyo is your life itself.

You must never seek any of Shakyamuni's teachings or the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the universe outside yourself. Your mastery of the Buddhist teachings will not relieve you of mortal sufferings in the least unless you perceive the nature of your own life. If you seek enlightenment outside yourself, any discipline or good deed will be meaningless. For example, a poor man cannot earn a penny just by counting his neighbor's wealth, even if he does so night and day. That is why Miao-lo states, "Unless one perceives the nature of his life, he cannot eradicate his evil karma." He means here that unless one perceives the nature of his life, his practice will become an endless, painful austerity. Miao-lo therefore condemns such students of Buddhism as non-Buddhist. He refers to the passage in the Maka Shikan, "Although they study Buddhism, their views revert to those of non-Buddhists."

Whether you chant the Buddha's name, recite the sutra or merely offer flowers and incense, all your virtuous acts will implant benefits in your life. With this conviction you should put your faith into practice. For example, the Jomyo Sutra says the Buddha's enlightenment is to be found in human life, thus showing that common mortals can attain Buddhahood and that the sufferings of birth and death can be transformed into nirvana. It further states that if the minds of the people are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds.

It is the same with a Buddha and a common mortal. While deluded, one is called a common mortal, but once enlightened, he is called a Buddha. Even a tarnished mirror will shine like a jewel if it is polished. A mind which presently is clouded by illusions originating from the innate darkness of life is like a tarnished mirror, but once it is polished it will become clear, reflecting the enlightenment of immutable truth. Arouse deep faith and polish your mirror night and day. How should you polish it? Only by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

What then does myo signify? It is simply the mysterious nature of our lives from moment to moment, which the mind cannot comprehend nor words express. When you look into your own mind at any moment, you perceive neither color nor form to verify that it exists. Yet you still cannot say it does not exist, for many differing thoughts continually occur to you. Life is indeed an elusive reality that transcends both the words and concepts of existence and nonexistence. It is neither existence nor nonexistence, yet exhibits the qualities of both. It is the mystic entity of the Middle Way that is the reality of all things. Myo is the name given to the mystic nature of life, and ho to its manifestations.

Renge, the lotus flower, symbolizes the wonder of this Law. Once you realize that your own life is the Mystic Law, you will realize that so are the lives of all others. That realization is the mystic kyo, or sutra. It is the king of sutras, the direct path to enlightenment, for it explains that the entity of our minds, from which spring both good and evil, is in fact the entity of the Mystic Law. If you have deep faith in this truth and chant Myoho-renge-kyo, you are certain to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime. That is why the sutra states, "After my death, you must embrace this sutra. Those who do so shall travel the straight road to Buddhahood."4 Never doubt in the slightest, but keep your faith and attain enlightenment in this lifetime. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

Respectfully,
Nichiren

God damn it man im getting tired of buddhists and violence! I mean look at this text for example......blood and violence everywhere. Kill, kil, hate , hate , hate. You buddhists really need to be more tolerant.