I am becoming Buddhist, anyone have tips?

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Joined: 25 Aug 2007
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11 Sep 2007, 11:42 am

I am becoming Buddhist and I'm wish to know whether any other Aspies on this site share the philosiphy and have any personal thoughts about the whole thing, as I am not very good yet. I know some of the golden rules though!

1. Never harm an animal or human on purpose.
2. Do not drink or take drugs.
3. Control your anger in a good way.
4. Be kind to people and animals.

Hopefully I am good already.

Regards, mightyzebra

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"The natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living." David Attenborough

monty
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11 Sep 2007, 1:21 pm

I have studied Buddhism some and benefited from it. I think that in some ways, it is not so much a religion as a philosophy or psychological description of our natural state.

Lately, I have been reading on Vedanta philosophy - the vedas that paved the way for both Hinduism and Buddhism. I don't see them as exclusive of each other, just different traditions within the same movement.

One thing I sometimes enjoyed was the podcast series 'Zencast' - it had various lectures and interviews and meditation practices. It is free from iTunes, and the iTunes software itself is free. You don't need to have an iPod to download the iTunes software - just a computer. Then you can listen on your computer if you have speakers or earphones.

dustbowlrefugee
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11 Sep 2007, 2:43 pm

Hey Mightyzebra, and hello from Scotland

Heres some stuff you might find usefull:

http://www.freebuddhistaudio.com/
Sometimes very boring... but still some gems to be found

http://www.videosangha.net/
Much better, and theres some videos from Dhanakosa which is a Scottish Buddhist retreat centre which Ive been to

The way I see it, Buddhists try to follow the Noble Eightfold path:

Wisdom (Sanskrit: prajñā, Pāli: paññā)
1. Right view
2. Right intention

Ethical conduct (Sanskrit: śīla, Pāli: sīla)
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood

Mental discipline (Sanskrit and Pāli: samādhi)
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration

username88
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11 Sep 2007, 3:22 pm

Take up yoga.

michel
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11 Sep 2007, 3:28 pm

mightyzebra wrote:

I am a somewhat modified buddhist. Go on SGI.org, you can even download the gong-yo.

Nafydalgol
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11 Sep 2007, 3:49 pm

Reading about buddhism is a good way to get familiar with it. But in my opinion, buddhism is ultimately about practice, not just theory. I find it hard to explain it in English, but I think it's about mental disposition, about a certain state of mind, which is obtained by practise of buddhism in every aspect of life, and not just by theorizing or reading about it.

The way I see it, meditation is the way to reach that state of mind which buddhism is ultimately about. So what I did when I decided to become a buddhist, is I enrolled in a meditation course at a temple in my town. That helped me to really experience first-hand what buddhism is all about. I learned a lot more about buddhism by the practice of meditation than by reading even the most bulky books about it. So my advise would be: seek out a buddhist temple and learn to meditate. By the way, I can tell you that it's really fun as well, and it's definitely suited for Aspies because the people go there primarily to meditate and not so much to socialize with each other.

Astreja
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15 Sep 2007, 12:56 am

Strive to tell the truth and to avoid causing harm. Choose your livelihood accordingly.

Inspect your thoughts and your actions. Figure out where they originate and how they affect you; drop the unhelpful ones; and take full responsibility for the ones you choose to retain.

Stay in the present moment.

(I am ex-SGI, now vipassana/zen+Ásatrú.)

jijin
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15 Sep 2007, 4:30 am

My biggest problem with Buddhism:

Quote:

What’s particularly distracting about this teaching is that one can devote one’s entire life to acquiring merit for a future life. And what’s positively ugly about this teaching is its application to the misfortunes of people born into lives of present suffering. A child who’s born crippled or blind is by this theory assumed to be suffering a consequence attributed to past life behavior. While Buddhism encourages compassion for such a child, it’s nonetheless understood that the unfortunate child is a victim of his own doing. I don’t know about others, but to assume that a child born deaf or blind or suffering from aids or a child badly burned in a fire or struck down in a crosswalk or starving to death in some poverty ridden slum somewhere is simply getting what’s coming to him is a judgment I simply can’t stomach. Those Buddhist teachers who can — and this includes not entirely teachers from devotional Buddhist traditions but many Zen teachers as well — place great emphasis on purifying past karma, a notion so reminiscent of the biblical tradition of original sin as to be almost indistinguishable. Not only that but the anxious quest for a favorable rebirth is little different from a theist’s hope for a reward in heaven. Devoting one’s efforts to cleansing karma is a notion that renders present life to the status of a mere means to an end, and not something in its own right. The hope for reward distorts and undermines the simple modesty of living one’s life as compassionately and harmlessly as possible.

From http://www.tricycle.com/issues/web_excl ... 036-1.html

Emphasis mine.

EDIT: This is why I like being a pure Mechanistic Hard Atheist. I can have all the compassion for the people do I feel deserve it. I can hate, but not hurt, the people I think deserve it. Finally, I can place blame where it belongs. Yes, that includes nobody if truly nobody is to blame.

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And we don?t listen to the freaks
Cause we don?t clean up our own s**t
And when refused we throw a fit
As we scream ?I don-wanna-hear-it?

calandale
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15 Sep 2007, 5:35 am

I'm kind of fond of aspects of Buddhism.
I just wish that they hadn't gotten around
to worshiping Buddha.

Coyote27
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15 Sep 2007, 5:53 am

calandale wrote:

I'm kind of fond of aspects of Buddhism.
I just wish that they hadn't gotten around
to worshiping Buddha.

Would the Buddha desire to be worshipped?

iamnotaparakeet
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15 Sep 2007, 7:25 am

Coyote27 wrote:

calandale wrote:

I'm kind of fond of aspects of Buddhism.
I just wish that they hadn't gotten around
to worshiping Buddha.

Would the Buddha desire to be worshipped?

No, since he presented himself as a philosopher and not a god. The fact some people do is a misnomer.

The_Chosen_One
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15 Sep 2007, 8:57 am

From a Buddhist's or a pagan's point of view, so was Christ. and you guys worship him in the same way....

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Pagans are people too, not just victims of a religious cleansing program. Universal harmony for all!!

Karma decides what must happen, and that includes everyone.

calandale
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15 Sep 2007, 1:32 pm

Indeed. Though there is some debate
whether Jesus was such a megalomaniac as
to actually desire worship, or if he was just
a philosopher and radical theologian.

Coyote27
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15 Sep 2007, 6:46 pm

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

Coyote27 wrote:

calandale wrote:

I'm kind of fond of aspects of Buddhism.
I just wish that they hadn't gotten around
to worshiping Buddha.

Would the Buddha desire to be worshipped?

No, since he presented himself as a philosopher and not a god. The fact some people do is a misnomer.

"Do not revere the Buddha because the Buddha is to be revered. Revere the Buddha because the Buddha is not to be revered."

jijin
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15 Sep 2007, 11:38 pm

Coyote27 wrote:

"Do not revere the Buddha because the Buddha is to be revered. Revere the Buddha because the Buddha is not to be revered."

“If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.”

calandale
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16 Sep 2007, 12:05 am

"Buddha, you fat f**k...."

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