Ask a Bodhisattva Anything

I have never herd it said that we are all things in Buddhism ?
we do reincarnate an almost unlimited number of times.
so in life you can reincarnate as a mother or father.
and your son or daughter will have been your mother or father
in another reincarnation.
and in another reincarnate you where a bug.
and the person who stands on you.
was the bug you stood on in one of your other reincarnation.
In life you will experience life from all angles.
It is not you who stands on you as the bug.
reply to post by Buddha1098

Originally posted by Astyanax
reply to post by robhines

 

Do you realise how many sutras we have translated into english now? From Theravada, Mahayana, Tibetan, Zen, all different types of Buddhism.

You can translate sutras till your eyesight fails you, and it will make no difference. You cannot fit Eastern religious practice into the Western Enlightenment concept of religion as text, as dogma. The power of a religion doesn’t lie in its precepts – didn’t you hear me the first time? – but in its rituals and the comfort they give to ordinary people. The idea that religion is something written down in a book is peculiar to Jews, Christians and Muslims – nobody else’s religion is like that.

How ironic that you should quote me the Theravada scriptures; they were first committed to writing not fifty miles north of where I am typing this. Examine them carefully and you will find that they were written down by and for monks, not lay practitioners. The Vinaya consists of rules of daily conduct for monks. The Suttas (sutras in Sanskrit) are the discourses of the Buddha as handed down in the Theravada tradition, while the Abhidhamma Pitaka is a collection of highly abstruse, deeply philosophical analyses of the Suttas. None of these texts are ever read by lay Buddhists, except for the Dhammapada, and even that is only consulted by highly philosophical laymen who are halfway to becoming monks themselves.

The average Buddhist no more reads the Suttas than the average Christian reads the Bible – indeed, unlike a Christian, a Buddhist may be completely ignorant of the Suttas and many are. The essence of religion does not lie in books. The belief that it does was spread to other cultures by Christian missionaries promoting the Bible – a new concept of religion as a product of written, codified dogma. But religion itself remains what it always has; a matter of the heart.

edit on 21/9/11 by Astyanax because: of typos.

I really don't even know where to start with all that to be honest. I think we've got our wires crossed. You're talking about religion and I'm talking about the ability of westerners to understand the teachings of the Buddha. I don't care if it's classed as religion, philosophy, or just classed as learning meditation, I'm saying that many westerners are able to understand where it's coming from and use it to learn meditation.

And I'm totally familiar with the idea that the essence of religion doesn't lie in books, sutras, words, etc, was just saying that sutras and teachers are what people usually need to first begin to understand where it's coming from, then they can do away with words, rituals, etc, and focus on the essence of what it's actually about.

Originally posted by Astyanax
The power of a religion doesn’t lie in its precepts – didn’t you hear me the first time? – but in its rituals and the comfort they give to ordinary people.

I was more meaning the power of meditation and it's ability to free people from stress, delusion, attachment and all other types of problems that they face. I'm really not bothered about rituals and whatever temporary sense of comfort they give. At the end of the day it's about realization, and once that happens there's no dependence on rituals.

Originally posted by Astyanax
How ironic that you should quote me the Theravada scriptures; they were first committed to writing not fifty miles north of where I am typing this. Examine them carefully and you will find that they were written down by and for monks, not lay practitioners.

You don't have to be a monk to learn and apply it some of it though. Even though it's harder it can be done, and there's plenty of people in the east and the west that aren't monks who are doing that every day.

Originally posted by Buddha1098
reply to post by Student X

 

I've had the urge but I didn't follow it. I'm curious because you mentioned doing a ritual earlier I'd love to hear what you did.

I can't go into the details of the renewal ritual. But it was long, complex, and difficult. I was out in the desert for days. It took me a day to prepare for it, a day to perform it, and a day to recover from the strain.

I suspect that many of us who were 'zapped' on the solstice eclipse were given the pilgrimage urge. I think it was imperative that one of us be at the right place at the right time to perform that ritual.

One thing I'll say that is different is I don't have any past life memories at all.

I'm 32 and Male

Yeah that is a difference between us. I recovered some memories. In a past life I was sacrificed on a gleaming white step pyramid. Afterwords I traveled through a tunnel. There were ghostly echo-images of me traveling too. Once I emerged at the other end, I had a choice. Move on to another level, or jump back into the world. I looked and saw an age of fear and death, and I was moved by compassion to jump back in.

Originally posted by Mishmashum
TD, I sense a real curiosity in you. If you'd like to experience something beyond mundane existence you should read up on lucid dreaming. The types of worlds you can explore are mind boggling. While I'm sure I have a perfectly good imagination. It's hard to believe that as I'm asleep, and for all intents and purposes unconscious, that I'm able to visualize whole worlds I couldn't even draw or properly imagine while awake and conscious. There's something truly magical about the worlds dreams let us access.

Thanks. I've done lucid dreaming before and it's a great experience. However, the things my imagination can generate are not other "worlds" that can be experienced, and technically are just part of the material world as everything else is.

Originally posted by Ghost375

Originally posted by Skorpiogurl


Because this life is not reality.

Wrong. This life is very real. It's a false enlightenment to think otherwise.
This place is very real, but it just so happens that there are other realities as well.

It's not real. It's just a game.

Originally posted by Agarta

Originally posted by Ghost375

Originally posted by Skorpiogurl


Because this life is not reality.

Wrong. This life is very real. It's a false enlightenment to think otherwise.
This place is very real, but it just so happens that there are other realities as well.

I would like to jump in here a moment to clarify your answer to Korpiogurl if I may.

This Reality is very real, it is your perceptions of it that can change its reality. It's a false enlightenment to think otherwise.
Second line is true.

edit on 20-9-2011 by Agarta because: (no reason given)

False enlightenment based on whos perception, or based on whos reality? My reality is real to me. Your perception of my reality may be false.

Originally posted by Agarta

Originally posted by Ghost375

Originally posted by Skorpiogurl


Because this life is not reality.

Wrong. This life is very real. It's a false enlightenment to think otherwise.
This place is very real, but it just so happens that there are other realities as well.

I would like to jump in here a moment to clarify your answer to Korpiogurl if I may.

This Reality is very real, it is your perceptions of it that can change its reality. It's a false enlightenment to think otherwise.
Second line is true.

edit on 20-9-2011 by Agarta because: (no reason given)

..... And thanks for the thought on the subject

My fine people, please regard.

online.sfsu.edu...

This would truly help some of us, who are unenlightened understand better what it takes to reach the far shore of Nirvana, and it may help determine your enlightenment. For those that don't know, there are many stages of enlightenment. It brings me great joy to hear that a brother/sister has reach the stage of Bodhisattva hood, but I can't help but to ask how is it that you are so sure that you have reach this divine stage of enlightenment? What made you cultivate this great path? Have you heard the Buddhas or other Bodhisattva speak?

Thanks,
may peace and compassion flourish upon this great illusion.

Just to clear a bit the atmosphere after all the heavy righteousness displayed before, here is a little buddhist joke said to be true.

A buddhist monastery headmaster, also renown as a great lama, heard about the realization of a modest, anonymous lama, and how people are starting to take teachings from him. Disturbed by the possibility of a fake master and the damage he could do to others, he decided to invite this so-called lama to a philosophical debate, for which buddhists are famous, and by doing so to be be able to establish his merits as a teacher.

The day of the meeting came; the anonymous lama appear with few disciples, one of them also using as a translator, and they are invited to the ceremonial hall where all the monks are sitting, eager to watch and learn from the masters. They all sit in silence for a while, the headmaster carefully watching his guest. Finally, he grab an orange from a small table near by and showing it to the guest lama, he asks: "What is this?"
The translator whispers the question into the lama's ear; then the lama whispers something back. Some more whispering are going back and forth, while everyone else is holding their breaths to hear lama's profound answer.
Finally the translator smiles, turns to the headmaster and says:
"The Lama asks what is wrong? You never saw oranges in your country before?"

Hope it made you smile...and think.

Enlightenment is a pursuit, not an objective. Wisdom can be sought - but to think oneself in possesion of wisdom is delusion. I wish you all the luck in discovering the path, and then never going astray.

reply to post by ZIPMATT


He who has never taken the time to explore his own consciousness shall never have an understanding of it.

P.S. Might I suggest you remove the last line of your post, while you can, lest the entire post be removed and your opinion void.

Originally posted by ZIPMATT

so you are quasi-enlightened ? you were offered but you didnt take ?

sorry but it's the real deal or not at all .' bhodisattva # just doesn't cut the mustard , and its not even an english word.

Bodhisattvas are cool yo. The idea is that if you attain enlightenment you can't be reborn into any world system, so by rejecting that and choosing to come back life after life to help others, you become a Bodhisattva. Not saying I fully believe this personally, just pointing out the idea of it for you.

Originally posted by robhines

Originally posted by ZIPMATT

so you are quasi-enlightened ? you were offered but you didnt take ?

sorry but it's the real deal or not at all .' bhodisattva # just doesn't cut the mustard , and its not even an english word.

Bodhisattvas are cool yo. The idea is that if you attain enlightenment you can't be reborn into any world system, so by rejecting that and choosing to come back life after life to help others, you become a Bodhisattva. Not saying I fully believe this personally, just pointing out the idea of it for you.

edit on 21-9-2011 by robhines because: (no reason given)

there is no can and can't anything . where does this process happen? this rejecting enlightenment ? in a box on the 'special' shelf ? what is this mumbo jumbo ?

Click here for more information.

I thought I was enlightened until I caught myself signing up on some dumb forum to argue opinions and semantics. Boy was I mistaken!

We don't need to make any external effort to awaken the sub-conscious mind. It's already there.

Originally posted by ZIPMATT

Originally posted by Buddha1098

Originally posted by ZIPMATT
Why are you not calling yourself (a) Buddha ?

Because I'm not fully enlightened. I've put off full enlightenment to help others achieve it.

so you are quasi-enlightened ? you were offered but you didnt take ?

sorry but it's the real deal or not at all .' bhodisattva # just doesn't cut the mustard , and its not even an english word.





FALSE prophet . Very stupid one .

Stupid coc aine addicts_ losers

:


The psychotic drowns in the same waters in which the mystic swims with delight."
—Joseph Campbell

cheers for that mods, where is it you just denied knowledge ?

to op research the topic involved by your own admission here.

what is and what is not within illicit chemical preparations intended for mind altering experiences,

let the thread be a wake up call , and dont do it a
gain

I was too harsh and quick with my misguided words earlier in this thread. As someone stated, I was not being compassionate. Apologies are nice but they are only words. I'll let my actions speak for themselves instead and remember what I have learned in the future. We are all students and we are all teachers. Each person has something to share with the world. I have made amends with the op and we came to an understanding. I understand that I make mistakes, we are human. If we didn't make mistakes then we'd have nothing to learn. It is important to analyze ourselves and think if what we are doing or saying at the time is skillful and beneficial or if it is harmful to others.