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Like Jesus did. But when you live a great, fulfilling, and long life, you can provide more detail.
The real accomplishment is finding Enlightenment. And then providing that for every sentient being. That would be the truly heroic thing to do, rather than favoring cronyism (which is what the corrupt flock to).
with the current brutal genocide (including tossing alive kids in the fire) and slaughtering the Rohingya community by the so called "Buddhists" in Myanmar/Burma, it doesn't look like these monks are actually following Buddha's teachings.
"so-called" indeed. The Buddhist monks take a vow to do no harm (not with their words nor deeds).
The conservative lay-Buddhist and those in their secular Military are hell-bent on rigid stability and protecting the Buddhist foundation of Myanmar. The Nationalistically-conservative Buddhist monks that verbally urge/support/accept this "patriotic" violence are thus in the wrong.
As it has always been, when a minority like the Rohingya "constantly threaten" the status quo (through various means that have been used by Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Buddhists in the past such as partial/cultural self-segregation and high rates of population increase through high birth-rates), those in power see them as an unpatriotic force making a power-play based on such stupid identity politics.
To such citizens of Myanmar, the Muslim Rohingya will always see them as "foolish idolaters" deserving of only "punishment/hell-fire/acid" and the eventual "Islamically dictated take over of all the land on Earth." Most of such self-appointed sentinels do not believe in education and believe that faith is stronger than rationality. The only thing true is that faith is cheaper than education and easier than rationality.
Think about how the Yazidis or the Zoroastrians and others must feel.
No one really knows exactly by now what Sukyamuni taught. For hundreds of years it was oral tradition before it was made into written canons. Every one who orally relayed by far relayed his or her personal interpretation into it so did scribes and others who inevitably had good intentions and wanted to approve anything.
I'd rather go with the old Latin Fama Est. It's been said.
But there is good sense to what is quoted.
Everything comes out of amorphous Substance by the Light of Intelligence, aka Consciousness. Human thinking is part of the The Light.
Human thinking is what gives form to the world as it is. Human thinking carries in it "designs" that elementals implement into building the world, as we know it, into a solid form.
In that respect indeed, what you think is what you occupy.
Not that it matters what exactly was said since Enlightenment would be freely available without the need for Cronyism, Fundamentalism, or Anti-Testing.
I heard someone on the radio say this today and found it interesting:
What does the Buddha teach us? With our thoughts we make the world. And if your thoughts are filled with strife and angst that is the world you will occupy.
I did not know that. Such a teaching exists in Vedanta as well. As Siddhartha was well schooled in Hindu Philosophy it is no surprise he made it part of his teachings as well.
We think if we change our circumstances, move to a different city, convert to another religion, we will experience life differently. But we carry our thoughts, which indeed creates the world we make, with us no matter where we go. Nothing will change until we understand our true nature, which is happiness and contentment.
The conservative lay-Buddhist and those in their secular Military are hell-bent on rigid stability and protecting the Buddhist foundation of Myanmar. The Nationalistically-conservative Buddhist monks that verbally urge/support/accept this "patriotic" violence are thus in the wrong
I've got a book laying around here somewhere that was written by a Western dude about 1960 to introduce people to Buddhism and explain why he left Christianity for that faith (Thereveda Buddhism in his case).
One of the reasons he liked Buddhism was its pacifism and "do no harm" ethos, which he felt was inherent in Christian doctrine but mostly willfully ignored by actual Christians. He pointed out that Buddhists never do the sorts of things that we have seen in Myanmar in recent years. Maybe in 1960 they hadn't; maybe he was conveniently overlooking earlier historical events. I don't happen to know. All i know is that the actions of Buddhists in Myanmar tell us that there's nothing inherent in Buddhism that keeps people from calling themselves Buddhists and yet not following the teachings of Buddhism. Just as Christians tend to do.
I've got a book laying around here somewhere that was written by a Western dude about 1960 to introduce people to Buddhism and explain why he left Christianity for that faith (Thereveda Buddhism in his case).
One of the reasons he liked Buddhism was its pacifism and "do no harm" ethos, which he felt was inherent in Christian doctrine but mostly willfully ignored by actual Christians. He pointed out that Buddhists never do the sorts of things that we have seen in Myanmar in recent years. Maybe in 1960 they hadn't; maybe he was conveniently overlooking earlier historical events. I don't happen to know. All i know is that the actions of Buddhists in Myanmar tell us that there's nothing inherent in Buddhism that keeps people from calling themselves Buddhists and yet not following the teachings of Buddhism. Just as Christians tend to do.
No human is perfect, no religion is perfect, no system is perfect. They can only try to be. If we are all perfect why teach? Why try?
The OP was about how we each create our own miserable world, or a world of goodwill, by the kind of thoughts we generate. We have much more control over our minds and thoughts and thus the world we project. That is what Buddha taught and we live that truth. No faith needed.
I've got a book laying around here somewhere that was written by a Western dude about 1960 to introduce people to Buddhism and explain why he left Christianity for that faith (Thereveda Buddhism in his case).
One of the reasons he liked Buddhism was its pacifism and "do no harm" ethos, which he felt was inherent in Christian doctrine but mostly willfully ignored by actual Christians. He pointed out that Buddhists never do the sorts of things that we have seen in Myanmar in recent years. Maybe in 1960 they hadn't; maybe he was conveniently overlooking earlier historical events. I don't happen to know. All i know is that the actions of Buddhists in Myanmar tell us that there's nothing inherent in Buddhism that keeps people from calling themselves Buddhists and yet not following the teachings of Buddhism. Just as Christians tend to do.
I agree.
The actions by too many monks in Burma is an anethema.
The parable of the second arrow is a well-known Buddhist story about dealing with suffering more skilfully. It is said the Buddha once asked a student,
‘If a person is struck by an arrow, is it painful? If the person is struck by a second arrow, is it even more painful?’
He then went on to explain,
‘In life, we can’t always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. This second arrow is optional.’
To me, Sukyamuni teaches only one thing - Your salvation is in your own hands. No one and nothing else helps. The rest of what is assigned to him, is spinning around this postulate. He clearly said that, even he himself is not the way. One has to find his own.
To me, Sukyamuni teaches only one thing - Your salvation is in your own hands. No one and nothing else helps. The rest of what is assigned to him, is spinning around this postulate. He clearly said that, even he himself is not the way. One has to find his own.
I'm not sure I would use the term salvation in Buddhism.
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