Buddhism...

Buddhism basically concerns what you 'see' before you start applying concepts, names, etc to everything, the naked experience of an unconditioned mind. Consider the phrase 'a picture speaks a thousand words'. Not even a million words could fully describe what you see in front of you right now, and, even if it did, the picture would be different in the next moment.

Sure you can start measuring things, applying mathematical rules, etc to help you understand the world in an everyday sense, but that's not sufficient to describe it.

Or something. :lol:
 
Robder said:
Not disagreeing - but can you expand on that one - not quite getting where you're coming from. :confused:
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Johnny Vodka said:
Why would you want to? It doesn't seem to contradict things we know through science, just gives a different perspective, which is why I think of it as a philosophy rather than a religion.
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djjaycool said:
I agree with you rob
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I would enjoy having a discussion with you all over this but not here.......over a drink someday as its too deep to explore and some of my meaning may be lost through translation. I do not want to offend anybody.

I have a lot of time for the concept of Budhism but applying it to reality and modern society is difficult. IMO, Utopian concepts are flawed amid the dysfunctional nature of humanity.
 
Bez said:
I have a lot of time for the concept of Budhism but applying it to reality and modern society is difficult. IMO, Utopian concepts are flawed amid the dysfunctional nature of humanity.
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It's difficult. To get by from day to day and have dealings with other people, you can't really work in buddhism. (In buddhist thinking, for example, you can't really think of a book as a separate defined object; it's more the sum of everything that ever brought it about and allowed it to be. Everything is interlinked. There's not a definable 'you' or a definable 'I'.) However, if you encounter a problem and apply buddhist thinking to it, it can reduce the problem in the mind - from 'want' to thinking about major crisis, perhaps even death.

You have to remember when the Buddha lived, the world would have been a lot different. It's easier to understand and 'get' buddhism while walking in peace in the country or sitting in a quiet garden.
 
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Bez said:
I would enjoy having a discussion with you all over this but not here.......over a drink someday as its too deep to explore and some of my meaning may be lost through translation. I do not want to offend anybody.

I have a lot of time for the concept of Budhism but applying it to reality and modern society is difficult. IMO, Utopian concepts are flawed amid the dysfunctional nature of humanity.
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I'm not a buddhist. ;)

Was just confused.
 
Bez said:
I would enjoy having a discussion with you all over this but not here.......over a drink someday as its too deep to explore and some of my meaning may be lost through translation. I do not want to offend anybody.

I have a lot of time for the concept of Budhism but applying it to reality and modern society is difficult. IMO, Utopian concepts are flawed amid the dysfunctional nature of humanity.
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Same as Robder I just didn't get your point.
 
Johnny Vodka said:
It's difficult. To get by from day to day and have dealings with other people, you can't really work in buddhism. (In buddhist thinking, for example, you can't really think of a book as a separate defined object; it's more the sum of everything that ever brought it about and allowed it to be. Everything is interlinked. There's not a definable 'you' or a definable 'I'.) However, if you encounter a problem and apply buddhist thinking to it, it can reduce the problem in the mind - from 'want' to thinking about major crisis, perhaps even death.

You have to remember when the Buddha lived, the world would have been a lot different. It's easier to understand and 'get' buddhism while walking in peace in the country or sitting in a quiet garden.
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I think the principles can be applied still today.
 
Bez said:
I would enjoy having a discussion with you all over this but not here.......over a drink someday as its too deep to explore and some of my meaning may be lost through translation. I do not want to offend anybody.

I have a lot of time for the concept of Budhism but applying it to reality and modern society is difficult. IMO, Utopian concepts are flawed amid the dysfunctional nature of humanity.
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This idea or concept of 'modern society' is slowly being eroded. Big changes are afoot imho, people are going to start waking up to what actually matters in life and it isn't having a bigger tv set than the Joneses. The world is bankrupt....
 
djjaycool said:
I think the principles can be applied still today.
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In the book I have, there are definitely ideas that can help in daily life, but you feel you have to switch your mind between 'normal' and 'buddhist' if that makes sense.

To explain -

The buddhist view is that an object is the product of everything that it brought it about. The normal view is a ruler is a ruler. Similar thoughts apply to 'self'; you were never really created and you will never really die. The conceptual boundary between us and the world out there is just that: a concept. There isn't really a boundary. :eek: To deal with everyday life, we necessarily have to deal with concepts and our minds generally end up cluttered with trivialities. Buddhism is just about 'seeing' and it's hard to see when one's mind is pre-occupied with other stuff.

Buddha apparently realised all this (and I hope I'm representing the ideas correctly!)while sitting alone under a tree, which I think speaks volumes. A buddhist mindset seems to come more easily in a more natural setting with few mind diversions. Also, a natural setting, like being out in the country on a sunny day, allows the best appreciation of what 'just seeing' is; much better than staring at a computer screen in a small office.

I like what kimajy wrote in the Amy Winehouse thread:

Humanity is not naturally built to manage freedom, fame and indulgence. It distances a person from both nature itself and the natural order. The further you get from this the greater the emptiness that results. Given her personal disposition, maybe the best chance she'd have had of managing her ‘demons' would have been to withdraw from the life she knew, seek out decent and loving people and experience the value of making a contribution to the welfare of others in genuine need.
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That seems pretty 'buddhist' and is hard to disagree with. We're all Amy Winehouses to some degree.
 
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Johnny Vodka said:
The buddhist view is that
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Sorry for the slightly gnarly post at 9h30 :lol: ...

But this is the problem with religion - it's all books, dogma and other people's stuff. Sometimes it resonates, other times it doesn't - but it's still written.

Read the book, take on the good stuff, burn it, go your own way. :twisted:
 
The thing is Buddhism isn't really about set rules. There are (seemingly) no beliefs, nothing taken on faith. There is philosophy (and it takes a bit of thinking to get your head round it), but really it's just about experiencing life for yourself. It's not like picking up The Bible, living by the 10 commandments, going to church on a Sunday and calling yourself a Christian.

It seems to me (as a beginner) something you constantly have to think about and practice (when you can). It's as if you're trying to reach a state of calm, in sync with nature, rather than constant peaks and troughs.

That said, I got a mate coming up to stay next weekend and it looks like it won't be very buddhist. :twisted:
 
Johnny Vodka said:
(seemingly) no beliefs
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Except that controlled anger is a bad thing and rather than follow the natural cycle of venting to transmute it, you should breathe, feel into your sitting bones and relaaaax.

It's 'a' way but I don't see anger as a negative state and I'm certainly not above it.

but => I do generally love Buddhist teachings.
 
Robder, that's why I say Buddhism works better in a natural setting.

We create, and have foisted upon us, many avoidable hassles during any given day. For example, I doubt the buddha ever had to deal with business meetings, train delays or being on cramped public transport with strangers.
 
Johnny Vodka said:
Robder, that's why I say Buddhism works better in a natural setting.

We create, and have foisted upon us, many avoidable hassles during any given day. For example, I doubt the buddha ever had to deal with business meetings, train delays or being on cramped public transport with strangers.
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Yup - nail on head.

No religion is current. Ditch the dogma and get into the elements themselves...(shamanism)

We can all see how the Bible has had to adapt over time and the damage that has caused.

As for 'the buddha'...just another wise man. Plenty of those alive today. Truth is, it's nice to be inspired but we don't need teachers and conduits for salvation.
 
There are two ways of trying to deal with the problem then, Rodber.

One is trying to force buddhist thinking into a busy life - a challenge!

The other is to try and live a quieter existence with which it seems to fit.

I'm lucky in that I live in the country, though in actual fact only 10 minutes from a town. Plenty of good places to walk round here. I also have quite a decent garden, my peace only interrupted when my self-obssessed neighbour appears and yaps away until I decide to go in. :evil: I think I'm also naturally wanting a calmer life with age. Don't get me wrong, I still like the occasional wild night but am beginning to figure out the things that bring me calm, rather than excitement then a dip. I'm not too attached to career or money either. So I'm a little bit in the buddhist camp already. :lol:
 
the kebab shop near us does Bhuddist kebabs, if you go in and ask for one he will make you one with everything!!
 
Johnny Vodka said:
One is trying to force buddhist thinking into a busy life - a challenge!
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I wasn't the one that said the two weren't compatible - more of a mindset.

Any kind of spiritual practice requires discipline - the key is to see the illusion for what it is and not get caught up in it. This concrete jungle ain't real.

The inner world creates the outer world so you can live in a field and still have world war III kicking off in your brain. :lol:

...

I'm only being contrary for the purpose discussion. Sounds like you have it sorted there. ;)
 
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