Oh, I see... I'll simply have to follow my heart then.
Oh My
Yes. Talk to monks if you're really worried I guess.
If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah
Macinatrix Insana
Hi. I've been thinking about becoming Buddhist for a while now. It seems like the kind of philosophy that suits me, but I need to know a bit more. Are there any books on the subject that any Buddhists here can recommend to me?
Life is like a game of Mahjong. Sometimes you need to take risks if you want to come out ahead.
Oh My
Books that one could purchase in most bookstores like Barnes and Noble? I can't help on that front much sadly...The books I do own I got for free from a wat I go to. Said books are published by The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation. The quality of these books varies greatly I've noticed. Translation in particular is the big issue.
Out of the ones I have Peter Della Santina's The Tree of Enlightenment has some issues here and there with reasoning on why rebirth and the other spiritual matters exist. That is to say they don't provide much reasoning at all. It's the same bullshit we've all heard before with things like this. Other than things like that it's a lovely overview of the religion for beginners.
A few names you may want to look up are K. Sri Dhammananda and Achaan Chah. The one has written a few books mostly of the self help variety in format. It's a good place to look for some idea on how Buddhists practically apply their beliefs and how they see such troubles. Achaan Chah has had quite a few of his discourses and sermons recorded in book form. He has a nice clear very fundamental view towards Buddhism.
Website wise there is always wikipedia. They have a very extensive series of articles on the religion.
It might be good to get a more simplified view in layman's terms before looking through that wealth of knowledge though. Buddhanet.net has some sources you can use. The e-library is particularly useful.
You are also free to ask questions in this thread if you so desire. I am happy to answer them and will do my best to explain them in a simple fashion that can be easily understood. No one likes reading things and going "Now just what in the hell does any of this mean?!". Meditation is the one part of the practice that gets this the most in my experience...
If you haven't already you may wish to read through this thread. There is quite a bit of info throughout it.
EDIT: Ah yes...titles of the Chah and Dhammananda books I have might help...For Dhammananda I have read How to Live Without Fear and Worry and You and Your Problems. For Chah I have A Still Forest Pool.
If you can do try to find a wat in your area. Speaking with monks is quite helpful.
edited 25th Mar '11 7:25:47 PM by Aondeug
If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah
Macinatrix Insana
Thanks, I'll look into those books. I doubt there's a Wat in my area, seeing as how I live in the middle of nowhere, but I'll look into it.
Life is like a game of Mahjong. Sometimes you need to take risks if you want to come out ahead.
antic disposition
What sort of Buddhism are you interested in? There are two main branches, Theravada and Mahayana, along with some that don't fit easily into either (Tibetan Buddhism, for example).
"Doctor Who means never having to say you're kidding." - Bocaj
DUMB
Unfortunately, most nonfiction books at B&N are kind of dumb to start with...
[1] This facsimile operated in part by synAC.
Oh My
You also have Vajrayana Buddhism which is...it's a thing. It's very ritualistic. I don't know much about it sadly.
I have knowledge of Thai Theravada and Theravada in general. With Mahayana I also have some info to share. I do not have any first hand experience with the followers of this branch. I have a bit of info on a specific school though.
It'd probably be best to give you a brief overview of the basics the branches share before getting into branch differences. If you don't know that already.
Tzetze: They are also expensive as all get out. May as well just find the shit for free...
If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah
Macinatrix Insana
I was interested in Mahayana Buddhism, but I'm open to the idea of Theravada. Any of that info you said you have to share would be appreciated. I'll probably check back in on the thread tomorrow.
edited 25th Mar '11 7:51:30 PM by Shadowbell
Life is like a game of Mahjong. Sometimes you need to take risks if you want to come out ahead.
Oh My
Are there any specific questions you'd like to ask? Also do you have knowledge of basic things like The Four Noble Truths and The Five Precepts?
If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah
Macinatrix Insana
The four noble truths are the Buddhist teaching that life is suffering and that this suffering is caused by attachment to worldly things, right? I don't know the precepts though, maybe you can start with that.
edited 25th Mar '11 7:55:33 PM by Shadowbell
Life is like a game of Mahjong. Sometimes you need to take risks if you want to come out ahead.
Oh My
Ok then...So the thing Buddhism is founded on are The Four Noble Truths.
- There is suffering (dukkha)
- There is a cause to suffering. The causes vary with the Buddhist but the three I go with are attachment, desire, and ignorance. Desire is the most common and appears on everyone's list.
- There is a way to cure suffering
- The way is The Eightfold Path
The Path itself is comprised of three divisions. Wisdom, ethical conduct and concentration. The steps are right intention, right understanding, right speech, right livelihood, right action, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. Though it is called a path you don't really go from point A to B. You sort of work on all of it simultaneously.
The Five Precepts or Sila are more or less your moral guidelines. They are...
- The abstaining of the killing and harm of living beings.
- The abstaining from false speech. Some include harsh and hurtful speech as part of this.
- The abstaining from taking what is not given to you.
- The abstaining from drinking alcohol. Some add other intoxicants to this as well.
- The abstaining from sexual misconduct. This...you're going to have to define on your own. Everyone has their own definition as to what "sexual misconduct" means...
Now how strict these are and how strictly one should abide by these is...variable. Especially with sexual misconduct since that just isn't well defined in general.
edited 25th Mar '11 8:08:19 PM by Aondeug
If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah
Macinatrix Insana
Thanks. I've been doing some reading on Buddhism, and I was wondering if you could tell me a bit more about Manjusri, and about the concept of a Bodhisattva in general.
Life is like a game of Mahjong. Sometimes you need to take risks if you want to come out ahead.
Oh My
Oh the concept of the Bodhisatta...Again this isn't my strong point since we're stepping into the territory of Mahayana. You do know the basic concept of the Bodhisatta? An Enlightened being who wishes to achieve Buddhahood and use his wisdom to help all on their way to Nibbana? There is a name for this desire. Bodhicitta.
Mahayana Buddhism is very fond of the idea of the Bodhisatta and encourages everyone to take the vows of the Bodhisatta. It's very much the "LET US HELP EVERYONE AND GET US ALL OUT" form of Buddhism. Theravada is all about helping other beings, but also places stress on individuals achieving the state of Arahanthood and does not stress the Bodhisatta ideal much.
There are three sorts of Bodhisatta. They are...
- The Kingly Bodhisatta: One who wants to become Buddha as fast as possible so they can help all beings
- The Boatman-like Bodhisatta: One who wants to achieve Buddhahood alongside other beings
- The Shepard Bodhisatta: One who wants to delay Buddhahood until all have made it to Nibbana. They actively put off leaving Samsara until they achieve their goal
According to the fancy wikipedia article they go through the Ten Grounds on their way in some schools. It's explained here. That's a new thing to me so I am not confident in my ability to explain it well without some thought on the matter.
I am sad to say that I cannot tell you much about any specific Bodhisattas such as Manjusri. All I can offer right now is this. And apparently he created nanshoku (male homosexual love in Japan before Western influences). Huh. Japanese monks for a time did not view homosexual relations as violating their vows of chastity so temples were a good place to go for such things.
Is anyone else here more knowledgeable on them?
edited 26th Mar '11 8:07:02 PM by Aondeug
If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah
Macinatrix Insana
Thanks. I knew they were basically those who wished to help others attain enlightenment, but I didn't know that many details. I appreciate your wisdom.
Life is like a game of Mahjong. Sometimes you need to take risks if you want to come out ahead.
Oh My
It's more knowledge than wisdom really. Wisdom is...it's a thing! I am glad that I could help though it may not live up to my standards.
If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah
Macinatrix Insana
Just out of curiosity (my mom is particularly interested in knowing this, so this question is really more for her benefit than mine), is there any connection between Buddhism and Hinduism?
edited 27th Mar '11 9:38:54 PM by Shadowbell
Life is like a game of Mahjong. Sometimes you need to take risks if you want to come out ahead.
antic disposition
Buddhism and Hinduism share some concepts, but treat them differently: for example, their ideas on reincarnation and karma. They originated from the same region and influenced each other from early on. You can be both Hindu and Buddhist, though some ideas are quite dissimilar. The idea of a "soul" is one that comes to mind; in Buddhism, there is generally no such thing, though the exact definition of what does exist - anatta, buddha-nature - varies greatly.
I hear Jainism is similar to Buddhism as well, but I don't know much about it.
"Doctor Who means never having to say you're kidding." - Bocaj
Macinatrix Insana
Ah. Mom said she went to a Buddhist prayer session, and there were some Hare Krishnas there, so she was curious. Thanks for the info.
Life is like a game of Mahjong. Sometimes you need to take risks if you want to come out ahead.
Oh My
On souls and not-self: Buddhism doesn't deny the existence of a soul if one simply means "incorporeal thing that continues to exist after death". What it does deny is any static, never changing, and permanent entity. When you die the soul continues its weird functions and constant changing and eventually gets reborn. This continues until you succeed and escape Samsara.
As for what happens after death...shit varies. Some go with the idea of their being a store consciousness that all your lives share. Others go with the idea of three minds (one that ends after life, one that continues on after death, and one that does not exist while you are sleeping) called very subtle, subtle, and gross mind. Subtle minds are born from very subtle minds.
Others, mostly Western Buddhists, reject all this hooey-hah and just stick with the practical aspects of it all that one can apply to their lives. Then you have people like me who neither reject nor accept it because we have no idea either way. We just remain in an odd neutral category because we are indecisive bitches.
If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah
antic disposition
I've heard soul used as "incorporeal and unchanging" as distinguished from insert-your-definition-of-anatta, but it might be just the books I've read. Darn translation barrier.
"Doctor Who means never having to say you're kidding." - Bocaj
Oh My
I've heard that as well. In all honesty I think it's just one huge clusterfuck we have due to the translation barrier and inconsistency between exact wording in English. Anatta and Sunyata suffer this the worst I think. Dukkha and and Sukha are right up there as well in the "Confusing shit" category...
One book says one thing and words it one way. Another says the same thing and words it this way. Then people get confused because we have no fucking clue how the others are wording shit and what they mean. AND WE JUST GO WTF.
edited 27th Mar '11 11:01:51 PM by Aondeug
If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah
Macinatrix Insana
One more question: What is the significance of the number 108?
Life is like a game of Mahjong. Sometimes you need to take risks if you want to come out ahead.
I honestly have no idea.
If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah