I got a neckless of pray beads, 108 count.
edited 13th Jan '12 8:50:18 PM by vanthebaron
Untitled Power Rangers StoryI am back after much searching. I have embraced with enthusiasm Theravada Buddhism, but am intrigued by Mahayana Philosophy (Nagarjuna, mostly).
Aondeug, who art much more knowledgeable in Therevada than I am, is it possible to mix Nagarjuna & Theravada?
All gods go to their hells when they die. We have all been gods. I seek refuge in Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. Hail to the Guide who is to come. These are things that I recite when sorrow or emotions bane me.
Mixes of Theravada and Mahayanan schools do occur already. They're common enough in the West to my knowledge. A few countries mix ideas from certain schools due to high levels of immigrants as well. Thailand is such an example. Chinese Mahayanan schools have influenced Thai Theravada. It's still Theravada but little bits and pieces have been taken from Mahayana schools, like a reverence for certain Bodhisatta. In Thailand's case Guanyin and Hotei.
Really I think strictly locking yourself wholly into one school and not so much as considering adopting certain practices or philosophies from others is a bit limiting and adhamma. One is supposed to abandon the ego, the self. Yet a strong affiliation to a group is part of an attachment to the self. It's also a form of close mindedness. You ignore other possibilities calling them wrong and blindly stick to those that you favor.
So honestly I don't see the issue here so long as you at least keep the basest part of the religion's philosophy the same. Namely the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path.
If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan ChahAondeug, ten thousand years!
Well, my great angst over the past few weeks has been over how to reconcile Yogacara and Nagarjuna. It is much easier to believe that nothing has an inherent existence (where would my beliefs be if my mother had not made me go to Catholic churches is a topic worthy of its own essay, which I can email or PM thee). I mean, as one who suffers from depression, aspergers, etc., it seems absurd that the mind has an inherent existence (the Yogacara view), but then many other schools have found use in Yogacara (Zen/Chan/Seon, most notably). But recently I have located a text that purports to reconcile these schools.
The funny thing is, Aondeug, that I have seen the book in question. When I first sought a book on Buddhism (Divine Stories it was, and a poor Choice, as I Now recognize), I found a copy of this other text for sale there as well. Reading its back, I was flummoxed by its technical discussion. Yet now that I have found it again, its back summary makes sense. Whatever weaknesses I have in my Buddhist practice (temper, excessive desire, etc.,), my comprehension of this book’s summary is evidence that I have advanced in my understanding of Buddhism.
Writing to a Buddhist Chaplain, I was touched to recall that thou art the only person from whom I have learned anything about Buddhism in conversation (thou teachedst me about dukkha).
Everything, friend Aondeug (for I hold thee a friend even if thou art hating me), is coming full circle. Today I read the Divine Stories while biking (stationary bike – I can move my legs). Today, is 11 moths less one day since I last read thy words to me. Whatever else shall be, thy response to my enquiry was beyond my hopes.
I am wondering if thou wilt respond to my PM.
To Accumulate merit, I post this link to a tract by Nagarjuna refuting the existence of a creator god, among other things: http://www.fodian.net/world/1568.html
. The hard copy is $168 for a book under 200 pages long! My Mozi, five time the length, cost half that and dealt with every one of the Poliorceticist's works, not a minor re-editing of one poem.
With metta.
edited 25th Jan '12 6:28:20 PM by terrkerr
I must say, that text seems to be straw-manning quite a bit.
Justice is a joy to the godly, but it terrifies evildoers.Proverbs21:15 FimFiction account.It also highlights the problem with the text.
It's not suggesting a creator god can't exist because because of any logical reason, it's just suggesting that a specific notion of God * is contradictory to Buddhist teachings, or rather "the principle of the world", namely, that men do good and obtain reward, and do evil and receive punishment. "
While I agree that that would be true, that doesn't mean that version of God doesn't exist.
Additionally, a God that rewarded good behavior and punished evil would be compatible with "the principle of the world."
The text is basically addressing a rather common theme in Buddhism when it sits in in opposition of some other religions, namely that it rejects certain certain assumptions about the universe, including the ones mentioned above and absolute determinism.
However, neither of these themes are actually necessities of of many religions that believe in a creator deity. The argument of "work vs faith" is a hotly contested issue within Apologists and Theologian circles. The nature of the Universe (deterministic, vs compatibilistic, vs libertarianistic) slightly less so, if only because it's harder to draw conclusions from holy scripture. But there's still tons of debate on the subject.
Honestly, many theologians and apologists would reject some of the same notions about a creator deity that Buddhism does. They just would conclude that said creator deity functions without the mechanisms they rejected.
Justice is a joy to the godly, but it terrifies evildoers.Proverbs21:15 FimFiction account.terrkerr, taking the context you want out of those passages you want to, as well as applying modern day ethics to something that happened thousands of years ago and assuming it's a line of thought prevalent with modern religions.
You're also using a coven thread to attack another group which has been a forum no-no for a long time.
I'm really surprised this is how you celebrate your religion, it's contrary to everything I know about Buddhism
Justice is a joy to the godly, but it terrifies evildoers.Proverbs21:15 FimFiction account.

I'm not a Buddhologist either! I'm just a girl who studies a lot on her own...I do want to be one though...Got to go to school for it. AWW YEAH.
If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah