Any buddhists here?

[HHI944]

I'm on my second read through of The Dhammapada direct translation in Glenn Wall's' translation and interpretation. I'm not exactly thinking of converting, but it seems to ke that much of the teachings are more practical, more eloquent and far more concise than Christianity's new testament could ever hope to be.

[M.D. Holloway]

I sat for many years - went more the way of zen buddhism, prolly the purest form of a religion but don't call it a religion! KATZ!!!

[scotricker]

My daughter came to the same conclusion, and is a member of a Buddhist Temple in Michigan. They teach peace and respect, etc. She tells me what they say, and it all sounds good to me. She takes her three little kids, too. OK, and me once. I went with her to a Buddha birthday party and met all the people.

[Seahawk]

I'm gonna sell my house in town.

[M.D. Holloway]

A GUIDE TO BUDDHIST TEMPLE ETIQUETTE

Shoes and hats should be removed before entering the temple
(leave shoes outside, placed where they won’t block doorway).

Clothing should be modest; provocative or revealing clothing
is inappropriate. Attire need not be formal, but please dress
respectfully—no shorts, tank tops, sleeveless shirts, etc.

If perfume or cologne is worn, it should be used sparingly.

Women should not touch monks; men should not touch nuns.
This includes shaking hands.

Pagers and cell phones should be in silent mode or turned off.

Children should be instructed in proper behavior: a temple is
not a place for running, playing, or screaming.

Small children should not be left unsupervised in the temple.

Never point with your feet or sit with the soles of the feet facing
bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, Buddha images, or shrines.

Bowing and chanting are traditional, but are not required. Each
person is free to practice according to his/her beliefs and under-
standing; your only obligations are silence—when appropriate—
and respectful conduct (as outlined elsewhere on this page).

Please don’t burn excessive amounts of incense—some people
have breathing difficulties when too much smoke is in the air.

Please be as quiet as possible when other people are meditating.
If you need to leave for any reason, do so discreetly.

When it is time for walking meditation, rise to your feet slowly and
mindfully. Please wait until everyone is standing before moving to
form a line on the right-hand side of the room.

When walking meditation ends, return slowly to the spot where you
were sitting, but please remain standing until everyone has returned
to their places. We will then sit down together.

Bells, gongs, and drums are for use during services and festivals;
please don’t play with them ‘just to see what they sound like.’

A temple is a place for study, practice, and discussion of Dhamma;
therefore, be mindful of your speech whenever you are here. Please
refrain from the use of profanity.

[scottmandue]

I'm a devout Christan...

When straightening up my extra bedroom my wife was going through and dusting/reorganizing my book shelfs.

"Wow, you have a lot a book about Buddhism."

I studied it for several years... I see a lot of parallels in both belief systems...

Also have met a lot of people who claim to be Buddhist or Christian however are not knowledgeable about their world view.

[on2wheels52]

I think I still have the zen thing going on. Maybe listened to enough Alan Watts lectures in my early 20's to become a master?
Jim

[vas930]

I have studied it for about fifteen years.
The base of it all is to understand the relationship between the thinker and thought.
We have always had these two as seperate(me and my thought)
Buddha said the thinker and thought are the same.(No me)
Science now finding this seems to be the case.
Deep stuff.
As with most things it has been turned into a system/religion.
Its a shame.
I will stop at that, this will end up in PARF.
Oh, I am not a Buddhist.

[TimT]

My wife is Buddhist, she is Chinese. I have spent many hours with her in some of the most interesting Buddhist temples in Beijing, and the surrounding area....

The Chinese Buddhists, love incense, they buy it by the arm full and throw it on these incense pyres that sometimes get like bonfires. I spent a whole morning this past January in a temple in the mountains outside of Beijing, staying warm by the incense pyre while my while made the rounds praying in the different parts of the temple..

I am Episcopalian, but have a wide world view of religions, I think Buddhism has it right..

I have some pictures of on of the temples outside Beijing, I have to wade through a few hundred images to find them

[Rapewta]

The novel "Sidhartha" by Herman Hess helped me out while I was stranded in
Alaska. I am not a Buddist but never-the-less... It made sense.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

I'm gonna sell my house in town.

the sparkle of your China...

I have done some sitting/studying of this variant:

Shambhala - Vision, Lineage, Meditation, Community

Have been to temples in China, with Taoist being my favorite. I think I fit with the pre-Jeanine David St. Hubins:

"Before I met Jeanine, my life was cosmically in shambles, it was ah...I was using bits and pieces of whatever Eastern philosophies happened to drift through my transom "

Although i've folded in some Western as well...

[Hendog]

Originally Posted by nostatic

the sparkle of your China...

the shine of your Japan...

I'm a Christian, I'll just never be as wise and insightful as my Lord and Master. I buy what He's sellin'

[vas930]

Originally Posted by nostatic

the sparkle of your china...

I have done some sitting/studying of this variant:

shambhala - vision, lineage, meditation, community

have been to temples in china, with taoist being my favorite. I think i fit with the pre-jeanine david st. Hubins:

"before i met jeanine, my life was cosmically in shambles, it was ah...i was using bits and pieces of whatever eastern philosophies happened to drift through my transom "

although i've folded in some western as well...

+1 Ha ha ha

[HardDrive]

I've studied it quite a bit. I'm a big fan of Pema Chodron.

I visited a Zen center for quite a while, but I found the focus on maintaining Asian traditions bothersome. Still looking for a new temple. I'm looking for the Methodists of the Buddhist world.

[gatotom]

yrs ago searching for my shining light, I came across reads from Suzuki Rashi and tibetan book of the dead and concluded that zen buddhism is about as good as it gets.

I was raised a strict Lutheran, went to parochial grade school and high school, Mother was a Lutheran my Father was a strict Catholic, there is your first clue.

Going off to college, didn't have time for church, all that fire and brimstone, didn't make much sense to me at the time besides I just entered the hippie generation and didn't even know it.

To make a long story short, found a group called The Farm, a bunch of hippie acid heads from san fran that started a farm in tenn. and had branches in other states one being in wisc. were I was from. To enter the place you had to take the pledge of poverty and give up all your worldy possessions, which I did and the saying goes that after you do that you will be blessed with 10 times back to you. Well, this is sounding like the middle eastern strapping on a bomb to get 10 virgins in heaven routine. I lasted 4-5 months on the Farm only to conclude that I wanted to aspire to more in life than being a slave to the common good of a group of acid taking pot smoking hippies.

So, I broke away, found my wife and the rest is history but I have to wonder about the 10 times rule. Would I do the pledge of poverty again, not in your wildest dreams cuz if the 10 times rule is true, I don't want the next 10 times back.

Maybe that's the point, be here now, don't worry be happy, find yourself hoping, you never reach your destination, we are all here because we are not all there.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

I've studied it quite a bit. I'm a big fan of Pema Chodron.

I visited a Zen center for quite a while, but I found the focus on maintaining Asian traditions bothersome. Still looking for a new temple. I'm looking for the Methodists of the Buddhist world.

Home - Seattle Shambhala Center

About as close as I've found.

[Chocaholic]

Originally Posted by gatotom

we are all here because we are not all there.

That made my night!

[TimT]

This is just one little slice I have seen of the way they interact with Buddha.

At Mianfengshan in the mountains northwest of Beijing

The spousal unit, my sister in law, and my stepson preparing incense offerings for Buddha



My wife taking my stepson to show him how to give his first offering



Although a lot of incense was burning, most of the haziness was from fog...

My wife telling my stepson the prayer he should say and helping him give his offering



My family



Stepson giving an offering of incense because " he wanted to do it by himself"



I know none of this adds to any of the philosophical discussion....It is part of my exposure to the way Buddhists practice in real life...

[vas930]

Thats a great looking family Tim.
Well done.

[MotoSook]

Born and raised Buhhdist. It's more sensible than most but there are still elements (due to selfish and greedy individuals) that turn me off. I now practice my own religion based on my own journey through life. Wife is Catholic and she too practices her own religion....it is what you make of it nothing more, nothing less.