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If you go on Buddhist forums, probably the two most debated issues are:
1. is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy?
2. how does karma work?
Buddhism just isn't full of the rules and regulations that are so common in most religions where you must believe or do "x". It's an out-of-the-box thinking religion and/or philosophy.
I use the words “prayerful meditation.”
Sometimes it is just sitting in silence, sometimes it is just listening, sometimes it is deep inquiry with questioning and response.
I use the words “prayerful meditation.”
Sometimes it is just sitting in silence, sometimes it is just listening, sometimes it is deep inquiry with questioning and response.
And I think that's very important in Buddhist meditation. It's not just one thing.
Once again, Urkrkoz speaks and everyone is just supposed to agree. Perhaps we should worship Ukrkoz.
True meditation is when you focus on your thoughts. In prayer you are asking for something or thanking for something.
No, not always. We do something in the Christian contemplative tradition called centering prayer.
It might not be exactly like meditation, but it is specifically NOT asking for something. It is different from how you describe meditation above as it is the opposite of focusing on your thoughts. It is based on the thought that "the first language of God is silence". You have a word of your choosing, but it is not repeated like a mantra. You use the word to get you started, to "give consent to God to enter", and then you sit in silence, usually for 20 minutes, but people who do this practice regularly often go for longer periods.
It is acknowledged that you cannot stop yourself from thinking, but the practice is to just let thoughts go and drift away without dwelling on them. If you find yourself caught up in a thought, you use your word to bring you back to the place of silence.
When I am in my usual habitat (I travel regularly to an alternative location 500 miles from my home) I try to meet up with the centering prayer group on Thursday nights. There are usually four or five people in our group.
Nothing magical happens at the time, except perhaps some peace and relaxation, but the results of the practice become apparent in the individual over time.
ETA: I read your subsequent posts, phetaroi, about this being the Buddhist forum, and you are correct. However, your statement that I bolded above was not completely true, and so I chose to share this information. You have been around here long enough that you know I am not trying to convert anyone to my spiritual path.
Right.
Just an aside for anyone that cares...Seth....from 'Seth Speaks', 'The Nature of Personal Reality', etc....said Buddha got it right...the closest concept of what Reality is and how it works. (my paraphrase)
It's an out-of-the-box thinking religion and/or philosophy.
YES!
I love the way you put it! ....and a way of life...a way of perceiving the world that is not
''the typical Western mind's way."
My take.
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....and a way of life...a way of perceiving the world that is not
