Buddhism Is An Education - Not A Religion

[suchandra]

 

I think people like this are initially attracted to this stuff due to the peaceful ritualism of it or something. Hopefully she finds out how depressing nihilism is and eventually that leads her to Srimad Bhagavatam. If that happened then maybe she could be of some use to the people of France.

Thanks Ancient Mariner, yes the triumphal procession of the Dalai Lama to open together with the heads of states one temple after the other doesn't seem to end. Plunging planet Earth, human society into atheistic nihilism. The Dalai Lama perfectly follows Lord Buddhas policy to put the responsibility for installing Buddhism to the premier minister of a nation.

But since even the Vaishnava institutions are keeping quiet, what can be done?

If they at least would understand what is ahimsa and that Buddhism originally was meant to install ahimsa. But no, they don't even know this word, ahimsa. But introducing Buddhism and at the same time cow slaughter to full capacity. This mixture, teaching Buddhism, atheism, but at the same time not establishing ahimsa, to stop animal killing, will cause severe karmic reactions.

 

Prabhupada: Yes. Lord Buddha was patronized by the then emperor, Ashoka. And anything patronized by the state, it becomes very popular. Yad yad acarati sresṭhah lokas tad anuvartate. So Lord Buddha converted Ashoka, Emperor Ashoka, to this religion. Therefore whole India became Buddhist. And later on, when Buddhism was driven out of India, the Jainism and similar other religious principles became visible. Ahimsa paramo dharmaḥ. Lord Buddha… Ahimsa paramo dharmah is also Vedic religion, but they stressed especially on ahimsa. In the Bhagavad-gita you will find: amanitvam adambhitvam ahimsa ksantir arjavam. These are the different steps of progressing in knowledge and religion. The first thing is amanitvam. Amanitvam means very humble. Very humble. And therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaches that trnad api sunicena, “Just become humbler than the straw in the street or grass.” To become religious means… Lord Jesus Christ also, he taught like that—“The humble and meek will attain the kingdom of God.” Is it not said like that?

So this is taught also in the Bhagavad-gita. Amanitvam adambhitvam. No false pride. Then ahimsa. Unless one is prideless, unless one is humble, it is not possible to become nonviolent. So this nonviolence is also there, the Vaisnava. So automatically they don’t encourage animal-killing. So every religion, the highest principle of any religion is there in Vaisnavites, or the followers of Krsna consciousness. Any best thing, in any religion, you will find in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore it is perfect. Buddha religion teaches ahimsa; the Krsna conscious people are ahimsa. Lord Jesus teaches love of God; they are the best lover of God. And Hindu religion teaches liberation; they are… As soon as they become Kṛṣṇa conscious, immediately they are liberated, immediately, instantly. There is no question of asking for liberation. Bilvamangala Ṭhakura says liberation means… What is that? Liberation from this material hankering. And what is that material hankering? To satisfy the senses. So these devotees, they are not for satisfying their senses. They are simply trying to satisfy Krsna. Krsna said that sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekaṁ saranaṁ vraja [Bg. 18.66] They are determined to preach this cult, that “You surrender to Krsna.” Therefore they are actual representative of Krsna. Immediately they are liberated. So, so far liberation is concerned, there is. So far ahimsa, nonviolence, there is. So far love of God is there, there is. So combination of Hindu religion, Muslim religion… And Muslims also, they also say their bandeḥ. They also pray in the mosque. I do not know, of course, all other religions. These principal things I know. They also accept “Allah akbar”, “God is great.” We are all bandehs, all servants. So that is also… Vaisnavism, that is Krsna consciousness. “Krsna is great.”So any highest principle of religion in any religion of the world you take, this is the summarization of all religions, Krsna consciousness. And that is accepted by Srimad-Bhagavatam—sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje: [SB 1.2.6] “That is first-class religion which teaches how to love God, how to learn to love God.” That is first class, not the rituals, not the formulas. That is another thing. Just like when a man is diseased, the physicians prescribes so many, that “You don’t do this. You do this. You take this medicine. You just…” That is according to the particular disease. But the real aim is to be cured from the disease. So any religion which teaches to be cured from the material disease of sense gratification and teaches love of Godhead, that is perfect religion.

 

 

Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.40

by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Surat, December 22, 1970

[Bishadi]

Cycles can be seen right here on the education thread;

 

In a monist view of reality, ‘evolution theory’ and ‘intelligent design’ can both be true. Intelligent design refers to the underlying 'oneness' of reality, and evolution theory describes the manifest consequences of intelligent design in material reality. Evolution theory in biology is like quantum mechanics in physics. Both models describe material reality quite accurately (at different geometrical scales), and (as yet) both models are 'incomplete'.

Growth in understanding with eyes of compassion and the foundations of progress for the good of knowledge.

 

In terms of regulative principles they do differ. But when explaining the spirit soul, there is no contradiction. Have you ever notice that?

Sharing equality of spirit within all mankind no matter the beliefs but within the soul. Or perfectly stated

 

The Lord is for everyone even for the less intelligent to the most intelligent.

little compares to the mind of equality

 

I always found Buddhism to be quite depressing in practice but once I read Prabhupada's Srimad Bhagavatam it cleared everything up in regards to the Buddha and his incarnation. I love the concept of the Buddha as a divine trickster so to speak

Which shares how even the greatest teachers can be misinterpreted and often cause separations.

that shares how gaps widen.

 

I think people like this are initially attracted to this stuff due to the peaceful ritualism of it or something

then a perfect closing

 

“That is first-class religion which teaches how to love God, how to learn to love God.”

That is first class, not the rituals, not the formulas. That is another thing. Just like when a man is diseased, the physicians prescribes so many, that “You don’t do this. You do this. You take this medicine. You just…” That is according to the particular disease. But the real aim is to be cured from the disease.

So any religion which teaches to be cured from the material disease of sense gratification and teaches love of Godhead, that is perfect religion

Kind of nice to see the idea of NO RITUALs…….

 

IS that the first sign of true faith and the beginning of Understanding? Perhaps the idea of 'Why waste the time on self satifaction?', when to learn and devote all for the progress is bhakti of service.

So the education continues under the thread of Buddhism….

 

Lesson learned;

Seek the wisdom from even a car wreck.

[primate]

Doesn’t monism lead to the logical conclusion that I am nothing? If god is the origin of everything and everything is one, then everything is god. Thus I am nothing.

 

regards

[suchandra]

 

Doesn’t monism lead to the logical conclusion that I am nothing? If god is the origin of everything and everything is one, then everything is god. Thus I am nothing.

 

regards

 

We shouldn't forget that at the same time God is unlimited. If you, me and everybody wouldn't exist anymore something would be missing. How in God's unlimited creation something can be missing? A definition of God given in the Vedas that He's perfect and complete in every respect.

Or, wait, understand, you're bringing in the theological tenet of achintya-bheda-abheda tattva what reconciles the mystery that God is simultaneously "one with and different from His creation", yes, good point, in that sense we're nothing and simultaneously not nothing, agreed.

[Sephiroth]

by suchandra

 

There're quite some Buddhist scholars stating, no, Buddhism actually cannot be called a religion in that sense since there's no acceptance of God and soul within the teachings of Buddhism. In fact both, God and soul, is considered as an illusion of the material mind by present Buddhist teachers like the Dalai Lama.

 

Excuse me ... Dalai Lama is not a Buddha. Neither are anyone else who have yet to reach Enlightnment. They themselves are struggling to become enlighten, how could they teach you on how to be enlighten?

 

ONLY Buddha we should recognise is Siddharta Gautama Buddha. NO ONE ELSE.

[RamanaDasi]

 

Doesn’t monism lead to the logical conclusion that I am nothing? If god is the origin of everything and everything is one, then everything is god. Thus I am nothing.

 

regards

No.

 

The old philosophy of the Yogis that mankind, animals, birds, fishes, trees, earth, rocks, and elements are one is a theory gradually becoming accepted within science. There is no reason to think life cannot arise from nature. Science says the physical universe composed of galaxies of stars formed from wave-particles which arose in the aftermath of the Big Bang; correspondingly, the Yoga philosophy says this universe filled with atoms and planets arose from a singularity and moreover that when the universe eventually runs out of energy and ceases to exist there will be future universes that come into being (then also collapse within the original singularity they emerged from). According to the Veda, there are other universes existing right now complete with suns, moons and worlds where life is evolving in a similar way to what we see in the world around us.

 

Like this, when I go to sleep at night and enter deep sleep I also detach from my physical life, my family and job, and enter a state where "I" merge with the essence I was within before I ever knew about this physical life. And just as crystals grow with definite forms and shapes, each with their own viśeṣa (particularity), when the life energy of "me" awakens then my energy goes out and reshapes my surroundings. According to the particular (viśeṣa) qualities that are inherent to me, I act upon things in the world and change the world. And make karma. If I want to, I can follow the practices of Buddhism and train my mind so that it loses the desire to wake up from the singularity of the "no mind" state. I can train my mind so I lose the desire to do karma and experience duality. Or alternatively, I can seek the association of Vaisnavas who can help me enter that beautiful harmony of oneness where every thing is perfectly united in a unity of love - the place that in the Gopalatapani Upanishad is described as the diamond lotus of Goloka.

 

Sri Krsna said to Uddhav:

Gold remains gold both before and after it ornaments are made from it. Gold gets given different names such as ring and necklace but it is always gold. Similarly the Reality, the Cause of Existence, is the same before and after worldly objects get given their various names. The one undivided Reality is eternally existing but souls with limited knowledge are mistakenly imagining the One has become divided into many things.

[Kingdecember]

 

Doesn’t monism lead to the logical conclusion that I am nothing? If god is the origin of everything and everything is one, then everything is god. Thus I am nothing.

 

regards

Welcome to Audarya

 

'Nothing' is 'known'. Everything is known by the knower.

 

What happened to the dinner you ate yesterday ? or all of the groceries that you have been buying ? Take a closer look, what is your hand composed of ? What runs as blood in your veins ? What makes the nails or the hair grow ? Or you have been doing some serious weight training and increasing your intake of protein. What happened to the vegetables that you ate ? Spend a moment reflecting and you'd realize that what used to be vegetables is now distributed in your body, as muscles or as blood cells. Or even as the layer of fat around your belly. Same with all the potatoes or whatever else you have been eating.

 

Before the slice of bread enters your mouth, you'd vehemently deny it was you, you clearly see the separation. Once eaten, doesn't the bread become a part of your body ? The body, that you are so attached to, and take it to be you ? Look differently at people eating in the restaurant the next time, and you'll realize that all that is happening is transformation. Bread, rice, butter, vegetables, they are all transforming into human bodies. This transformation goes on endlessly in nature. This transformation happens to your body as well. Look at your body again, it is the sum total of all the groceries that you have been buying each month, whether you are a vegetarian or non, it doesn't matter, it is just transformation of one form into another.

 

Who witnesses the transformation ?

Get rid of the sense of doership. It is hard for most of us to accept that all happens as it must. A thought, a desire appears, action follows. Ultimately everything returns to a state of harmony. At best, all that needs to be done is to adopt a witness, an observer attitude. Most of us probably haven't met someone we call enlightened, but if we did, he would simply tell us to wake up, to know that we are not individuals. Then, how could one go about doing something as an individual ? Losing individuality would necessitate losing the sense of doership. To sit in meditation, to recite prayers, is to continue as an individual. To follow such practices and then look for signs of progress is to further the notion of the individual.

 

Silence, discrimination of what you are not and constant remembrance of 'I am' is necessary in the beginning. All that appears to you is not you. All that you can observe is not you. Constantly paying attention to this will intuitively lead you to the conclusion that you do not have to do anything, but 'just be'. Sooner or later, the seeker is sure to come across this statement and he is bound to get confused. How do I 'just be' ? Do I sit in a corner doing nothing ? Do I eat ? Do I breathe ? These questions are certain to arise and a correct understanding of this statement is necessary.

 

If approached with the attitude, 'I am the body', this statement will certainly sound ridiculous and impossible. Even if one were to sit in a corner, doing nothing, the heart would continue to beat, cell division in the body will go on and blood would flow through the veins. This obviously can not be the meaning of 'Do nothing'. Understand, that this statement is not meant for who we think we are, i.e. a body, a name etc. Before a Guru would have made this statement, he'd also have stressed 'You are not what you think you are. You are not the body, nor the mind'. It is clear that sitting in a particular posture or fasting is not the intent of this statement. To understand what I am, I must know what I am not. What the mind has been led to believe all along, must be undone. I have to believe, understand that I'm not the body, nor the mind. I'm not a sensory perception, therefore I can not be the body or anything physical. I'm not a thought, therefore I can never think or imagine what I am.

 

I can not be perceived since the perceived can not be the perceiver. I can not be known, since the known can not be knower. I must be changeless since all change is witnessed by me. Knowing this, believing this, what then is left to do ? All that appears, appears to me. All that appears, appears because I am there to appear to. Sensations, desires and thoughts arise, they are known to me, but I'm not the known, but the knower of all there is.

[srikanthdk71]

 

The one undivided Reality is eternally existing but souls with limited knowledge are mistakenly imagining the One has become divided into many things.

 

What is this One Undivided Reality? Is it not covering the Souls. If you presume so, from where did the Soul emerge, again if you presume that the Soul is Independent, how can it know the existance of that 'One Undivided Reality' which is different in Nature (as per you) from the Soul. Kindly expadite.

[Ravindran Kesavan]

 

Doesn’t monism lead to the logical conclusion that I am nothing? If god is the origin of everything and everything is one, then everything is god. Thus I am nothing.

 

regards

 

So if I am nothing and god is everything why should it worry me? It worries me because whome I call 'I' is a separate ego and the ego fears its death. Hense it struggles against the the merging with god and becaome one with god. But the spiritual ideal is with out ego. What is the problem if I as a separate entity does not exist? It is all the more better if I am one with god or one with everything isint it?

 

K.Ravindran

[primate]

 

So if I am nothing and god is everything why should it worry me? It worries me because whome I call 'I' is a separate ego and the ego fears its death. Hense it struggles against the the merging with god and becaome one with god. But the spiritual ideal is with out ego. What is the problem if I as a separate entity does not exist? It is all the more better if I am one with god or one with everything isint it?

 

K.Ravindran

 

There is, indeed, a second solution. If god is the origin of everything and everything is one, then everything is god. I think, therefore I am, thus I am god.

 

The Buddhist idea of essential nothingness, may even suggest that I can be both nothing and god, because god is nothing. Maybe here’s some common ground with religious monism.

 

Regards

[suchandra]

 

There is, indeed, a second solution. If god is the origin of everything and everything is one, then everything is god. I think, therefore I am, thus I am god.

 

The Buddhist idea of essential nothingness, may even suggest that I can be both nothing and god, because god is nothing. Maybe here’s some common ground with religious monism.

 

Regards

 

The definition of God is Supreme Controller, how the Supreme Controller can ever become controlled by the laws of material nature, like old age and death?

The Complete Whole is not formless. If He were formless, or if He were less than His creation in any other way, He could not be complete. The Complete Whole must contain everything both within and beyond our experience; otherwise He cannot be complete. You don't need a scripture but two eyes to see all the variety in nature, all this variety must be within The Complete Whole, otherwise He cannot be fully complete.

[ARJ]

Maya Reloaded

 

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Dq454iFp2c&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="300" width="375">

[primate]

 

The definition of God is Supreme Controller, how the Supreme Controller can ever become controlled by the laws of material nature, like old age and death?

The Complete Whole is not formless. If He were formless, or if He were less than His creation in any other way, He could not be complete. The Complete Whole must contain everything both within and beyond our experience; otherwise He cannot be complete. You don't need a scripture but two eyes to see all the variety in nature, all this variety must be within The Complete Whole, otherwise He cannot be fully complete.

Buddhism holds: emptiness is form and form is emptiness. And Krishna called himself: smaller than the smallest. So what do we talk about here?

 

Regards

[suchandra]

 

Buddhism holds: emptiness is form and form is emptiness. And Krishna called himself: smaller than the smallest. So what do we talk about here?

 

Regards

What about quoting the whole verse?

 

 

"There is no truth superior to that Supreme Person because He is the supermost. He is smaller than the smallest, and He is greater than the greatest. He is situated as a silent tree, and He illumines the transcendental sky, and as a tree spreads its roots, He spreads His extensive energies." Svetasvatara Upanisad(3.8-9)

 

" One should meditate upon the Supreme Person as the one who knows everything, as He who is the oldest, who is the controller, who is smaller than the smallest, who is the maintainer of everything, who is beyond all material conception, who is inconceivable, and who is always a person. He is luminous like the sun and, being transcendental, is beyond this material nature. "(BG 8.9)

Yours respectfully