Advantage to the Christians.
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Advantage to the Christians.
The Christians said, believe in God and the Son of God, Jesus Christ and you will be forever saved in the arms of the Lord in Heaven when you died. How simple, how enticing, personal salvation is guaranteed. Of course, it has its commandments and punishment for sins committed as well.
God send Jesus to earth to save all humans from their sins because he loves them all. To love God, is to love all human beings. The more you love God, the more you would love all humans and try to ‘save’ them by preaching to them to believe in Him. Because one’s salvation is already guaranteed in believing in God, the next natural progression is to love Him with all their hearts, which indirectly extends to all humans as well. It becomes inherent in the Christian faith to go out and carry out proselytizing to ‘save’ all humans. Because of the emphasis on love, the act of giving and charitable activities is also very predominant in the religion. To sum it all, it is a socially proactive religion.
The Buddhist faith too, lays lots of emphasis on the cultivation and perfection (paramita) on love, generosity, and compassion, but ultimately, personal salvation is not a guaranteed, and one have to work on it to achieve it. It follows that the priority for the majority of Buddhist then, is to start off with the cultivation on self liberation first, with such cultivations as the Perfection of Wisdom and various types and ways of meditation taking precedent over other perfections. Frankly, acts of altruism from Buddhist organizations are few and far in between as compared with religion like the Christian faith. For most Buddhists, the religion becomes introspective and personal in nature.
Well and good, if salvation is as simple as just believing in a creator. Well and good, if it is so easy to realized emptiness or experiencing impermanence, no-self or coming to a deep understanding of the doctrine of the four Noble Truths or about Buddhist understanding of Ignorance. But we know few will ever reach such state of self realization. Of course, it does not mean that we should stop our personal cultivation. What is needed is that, we should also spare some time for those who needs it.
For the Buddhist faith to survive and prosper, the religion has to grow out of its inward looking ways, and for the venerable monks, nuns and leading lay Buddhists to lay more emphasis on its other teaching of serving our fellow sentient beings more. This would make the religion more proactive and relevant to society as a whole. After all, religions are here to help, give assurance, comfort and directions on and about lives and living and…also about ‘saving’ others.
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I think the Buddhist way of helping sentient is different. Christians who help and try to transform others because their teaching is such that only believers in Christ and God will be saved, and they believe in one life - so that will motivate them to want to help as many people as possible to go to Heaven.
To Buddhist the only way to truly repay the kindness of sentient beings would be for one to be a Buddha and teach them to become Buddhas as well. Hence the focus in personal cultivation instead of physically helping them in other ways (besides teaching them the Dharma). In fact, many people who brought forth the Bodhi resolve have the altruistic intention to save all sentient beings, as part of the 4 great vows, the 1st being "Sentient beings are boundless I vow to save them all" shows the very altruistic motive that Buddhists should develop. This altruistic intention is not only limited to humans - also to sentient beings on the other paths of rebirth.
Buddhists view life as impermanent, and so too will this world one day come to cessation. To Buddhists the gift of Dharma is the highest gift, as sentient beings could save themselves with this instead of keeping on relying on external aid - e.g. food clothing money etc. In order to provide the gift of Dharma, one need to have wisdom, hence the focus in personal cultivation.
However, Buddhist organizations do try to help beings in other ways besides teaching Dharma and practicing on their own. Say for example Tzu Chi foundation which has branches worldwide helping the destitute. Firefly mission is a local group which also offer aid to those in need.
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Hmm... reading your articles made me think Buddhism and Christianity are very good religions... as well as many other good religions... But why is the whole world filled with so many good religions and with so many believers, the world is still in such a mess than ever... I mean religion has not been here for a couple of years... they have been here long long long time enough to fill the world with overwhelming love... and the world already went through 2 world wars ....
why do i look left and right, up and down, here and there, i see and observe... ppl who say they are christians or buddhists, are not that good at all. And the excuse i hear is the same... say in different way that's all ... is that man is never 100% good.
and i see again. i see ppl who left their faiths whether buddhism, christianity or other kinda of spiritual practices... they are able to pick up good ethical values and dump the wrong teachings... they are more rational and more kinder than i first assume... they have seriously tried to practice their faiths, but eventually find doubts with the belief system and hence left..
and i look again to those who never been in any faiths before... they despise religion, but at their twilight of death, they adopt religion so fast like drinking a cup of coffee... then i realise why they despise religion.. they despise religion to make themselves feel right...
and i conclude man is using religion to appease himself, be it in the form of charity or missions, that's all ... perhaps the world will mean to end because of religion, which is the means and ends to everyone.
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with regards to Repuzzzan, read this y'all, you'll love it ^^
Dr. Schambaugh, of the University of Oklahoma School of Chemical Engineering, Final Exam question for May of 1997. Dr. Schambaugh is known for asking questions such as, "why do airplanes fly?" on his final exams. His one and only final exam question in May 1997 for his Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer II class was: "Is hell exothermic or endothermic? Support your answer with proof."
Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following:
"First, We postulate that if souls exist, then they must have some mass. If they do, then a mole of souls can also have a mass. So, at what rate are souls moving into hell and at what rate are souls leaving? I think we can safely assume that once a soul gets to hell, it will not leave.
Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for souls entering hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Some of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, then you will go to hell. Since there are more than one of these religions and people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all people and souls go to hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in hell to increase exponentially.
Now, we look at the rate of change in volume in hell. Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in hell to stay the same, the ratio of the mass of souls and volume needs to stay constant. Two options exist:
- If hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter hell, then the temperature and pressure in hell will increase until all hell breaks loose.
- If hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until hell freezes over.
So which is it? If we accept the quote given to me by Theresa Manyan during Freshman year, "that it will be a cold night in hell before I sleep with you" and take into account the fact that I still have NOT succeeded in having sexual relations with her, then Option 2 cannot be true...Thus, hell is exothermic."
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Originally posted by Casopia-maplesea:
with regards to Repuzzzan, read this y'all, you'll love it ^^
Dr. Schambaugh, of the University of Oklahoma School of Chemical Engineering, Final Exam question for May of 1997. Dr. Schambaugh is known for asking questions such as, "why do airplanes fly?" on his final exams. His one and only final exam question in May 1997 for his Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer II class was: "Is hell exothermic or endothermic? Support your answer with proof."
Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following:
v.nice ... -
The postulate may be inaccurate. What exist does not necessarily have mass. Light exists but is massless since it is always moving at constant c.
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Originally posted by Aik TC:
Advantage to the Christians.
The Christians said, believe in God and the Son of God, Jesus Christ and you will be forever saved in the arms of the Lord in Heaven when you died. How simple, how enticing, personal salvation is guaranteed. Of course, it has its commandments and punishment for sins committed as well.
God send Jesus to earth to save all humans from their sins because he loves them all. To love God, is to love all human beings. The more you love God, the more you would love all humans and try to ‘save’ them by preaching to them to believe in Him. Because one’s salvation is already guaranteed in believing in God, the next natural progression is to love Him with all their hearts, which indirectly extends to all humans as well. It becomes inherent in the Christian faith to go out and carry out proselytizing to ‘save’ all humans. Because of the emphasis on love, the act of giving and charitable activities is also very predominant in the religion. To sum it all, it is a socially proactive religion.
The Buddhist faith too, lays lots of emphasis on the cultivation and perfection (paramita) on love, generosity, and compassion, but ultimately, personal salvation is not a guaranteed, and one have to work on it to achieve it. It follows that the priority for the majority of Buddhist then, is to start off with the cultivation on self liberation first, with such cultivations as the Perfection of Wisdom and various types and ways of meditation taking precedent over other perfections. Frankly, acts of altruism from Buddhist organizations are few and far in between as compared with religion like the Christian faith. For most Buddhists, the religion becomes introspective and personal in nature.
Well and good, if salvation is as simple as just believing in a creator. Well and good, if it is so easy to realized emptiness or experiencing impermanence, no-self or coming to a deep understanding of the doctrine of the four Noble Truths or about Buddhist understanding of Ignorance. But we know few will ever reach such state of self realization. Of course, it does not mean that we should stop our personal cultivation. What is needed is that, we should also spare some time for those who needs it.
For the Buddhist faith to survive and prosper, the religion has to grow out of its inward looking ways, and for the venerable monks, nuns and leading lay Buddhists to lay more emphasis on its other teaching of serving our fellow sentient beings more. This would make the religion more proactive and relevant to society as a whole. After all, religions are here to help, give assurance, comfort and directions on and about lives and living and…also about ‘saving’ others.
Agree with much of what you said. Except that of course... Buddhism will never remove the 'inward/instropective' ways - without self contemplation, Buddhism can never be Buddhism. Just that we should also include the part of 'benefitting all sentient beings'.
Also it is false that 'few will ever reach such realizations'. There are in fact many today who do reach such realizations, and in fact it shouldn't take more than 10 years if you have a good teacher to impart you the contemplative practice and right views. Of course relatively speaking the number of unrealized vs realized is still not big, but it is because the number of those who have an earnest interest in contemplative practice is not that much. It is not a case of 'inability' but 'willingness'.
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religious objectivism and relativism is a good and neutral approach and tool that could be included in any chosen belief to avoid absolutism, obsession and in the worst scenario, nihilism.
Again, its a personal view.
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Definitely, inward/introspective ways will always be present in Buddhism, otherwise it is not Buddhism. As for reaching the state of self realization, I am certainly happy to note that I am wrong and there are many who are able to do so. Blessed be.
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Agree with much of what you said. Except that of course... Buddhism will never remove the 'inward/instropective' ways - without self contemplation, Buddhism can never be Buddhism. Just that we should also include the part of 'benefitting all sentient beings'.
Also it is false that 'few will ever reach such realizations'. There are in fact many today who do reach such realizations, and in fact it shouldn't take more than 10 years if you have a good teacher to impart you the contemplative practice and right views. Of course relatively speaking the number of unrealized vs realized is still not big, but it is because the number of those who have an earnest interest in contemplative practice is not that much. It is not a case of 'inability' but 'willingness'.
I fully agree that having good teachers is very important.
It is very difficult to navigate the path on our own... the pitfalls are too subtle in most cases. I have seen good progress in one of my family member who is undergoing vipassana training and general Buddhist course. Currently she has experienced pure awareness.. however it is at the I AM stage realisation. Hopefully she will enter the stream soon :)
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Hi Aik
On the surface, Evangelical motto, “ Believe in Christ and be saved” may be simple however St Paul, the apostle, expect Christian to bear fruit, FRUIT OF HOLY SPIRIT which is a change in the moral behaviour otherwise they might not made it to heaven especially for long time christian.
Gal 5: 19-22 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Beside Jesus also mentioned in the Gospel of Matt 7:20-23, “Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
Hence to me, Christian also needs to cultivate inner realisation in order to progress in their faith. There is no such simple equation of believing without action on one part. Isn’t that similar to Buddhist self cultivation?
Guarantee on personal salvation? Christian is guarantee of salvation through Faith in the Bible. Buddhists are also assured of one enlightenment through Buddha words.
Lotus Sutra Chpter 11, Shakyamuni Buddha said , “ From the beginning till now, have widely preached many sutras; But amongst them all, this sutra is the Chief and If anyone is able to keep it, then he keeps the Buddha’s Body........ Speedily shall he attain the Supreme Buddha-way” Well, unless Buddha is a Liar then there will not be no assurance this promise. Hence as Buddhist, we need to believe, study the Dharma and practice it to see it for oneself. After all, you never know what has been installed for you.
Finally, I would like to attach Master Cheng Yen, Lotus Sutra inspiration story for your pleasure reading that all things are possible when one believes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheng_Yen
Master Cheng Yen's initial exposure to the Sutra of Lotus happened when she abandoned her earthly (and reasonably wealthy) family in Feng Yuan, Taichung county, and stayed away from the world by lodging in a small hut in Taitung county, eastern Taiwan. While in Taitung, she accidentally found a Japanese version of the Sutra of Lotus, and was pleased with what the book said. Later, she had a friend bring back a Japanese Sutra of Lotus (Myoho Renge Kyo) from Japan, and was immensely enlightened by the Mu Ryo Gi Kyo, (Sutra of U Liang Yi, or Sutra of Immeasurable Righteousness.) The serenity and clarity of heart derived from the book gave the Master tremendous Buddhist happiness (Fa Shi). According to the Master, the Sutra of Lotus is the culmination of the Buddha's teachings, while the Sutra of Immeasurable Righteousness (U Liang Yi) is the precursor to The Sutra of Lotus. The Sutra of Immesurable Righteousness deals with human problems, whether behavioral, psychiatric, psychological or spiritual.
It is said that there are two watershed events that inspired Cheng Yen to take the power of Buddhism and use it to help people in the material world. The first is when she had a now-famous discussion with three Roman Catholic nuns at Pu Ming temple in 1966. While the nuns admitted the profundity of Buddhist teachings, they noted that the Catholic Church had helped people around the world by building schools and hospitals. “But what has Buddhism done for society?” Those words made Master Cheng Yen realize that Buddhism had to do more than just simply cultivate the soul.[
The other watershed event occurred in the same year while on a visit to a hospital in Fenglin. After seeing blood on the hospital floor, she learned that a Taiwanese aborigine woman had a miscarriage. They were forced to carry the pregnant woman back up the mountain after they could not afford the 8000 New Taiwan dollar deposit.
These events led Master Cheng Yen to establish the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, which is now known as the Tzu Chi Foundation, in 1966 and the first Tzu Chi Hospital in Hualien in 1986.
Gassho
Namu Myo Ho Renge Kyo
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Originally posted by simpo_:
I fully agree that having good teachers is very important.
It is very difficult to navigate the path on our own... the pitfalls are too subtle in most cases. I have seen good progress in one of my family member who is undergoing vipassana training and general Buddhist course. Currently she has experienced pure awareness.. however it is at the I AM stage realisation. Hopefully she will enter the stream soon :)
When you say "Enter the stream", are you referring to sotapanna?If it is sotapanna, what stage of meditation does it take to achieve it?
It may not be advisable, but is it possible to meditate at a place where there is noise if I am able to ignore it?
Thanks.
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Originally posted by simpo_:
I fully agree that having good teachers is very important.
It is very difficult to navigate the path on our own... the pitfalls are too subtle in most cases. I have seen good progress in one of my family member who is undergoing vipassana training and general Buddhist course. Currently she has experienced pure awareness.. however it is at the I AM stage realisation. Hopefully she will enter the stream soon :)
That's amazing! Which Buddhist course is she attending? How long has she been involved in Buddhism and its practices?
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The thing buddhists should learn from christians is to share the buddhist faith around more actively.
But after sharing the person don't believe then don't compel them. Just shui Yuan.
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Originally posted by reborn76:
Hi reborn76
Thanks for the information. I will certainly be making time to read up about Master Cheng Yen.
Anyway, we know that in Buddhism, besides the purification of virtues, which governs on how we should live our lives, Buddhists also needs the purification of the Mind through Meditation and then eventually with a purified and concentrated mind, increases our understanding of the Buddhist teachings before we can reach the stage of liberating ourselves from this mundane world. This is the teaching as stated in the Theravada tradition.
Basing on the few Bible quotes in your write up, I gather it is basically on the purification of virtues which would eventually leads the believers to God? Maybe, there are quotes on other forms of purifications that may be required as well?
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Originally posted by TrueReppuzan:
Religion and its teachings are inherently good. That is why majority of people profess to believe in one. It gets mess up when its teaching is interpreted to suit a particular selfish cause or for some personal objective.
There are philosophical systems that argue that all humans are born both Pure and Good, while others said that we all born totally Bad. Of course there are still others that said we are born with some Good and some Bad in us. My personal believe is that, Buddhism falls into the category that we are all born with both the Good and Bad in us.
The Buddha did commented, that there is Freewill, but there is Retribution, i.e., within the confine of the cycle of births and deaths. When there is a belief in rebirth, it follows that the seeds of goodness and badness would be carried forward into all our future rebirths, where, when conditions are right, it bears its fruits. There is also another aspect about religions, at least in Buddhism, that we all tend towards the Good, for if it is otherwise, than all beings will not be able to find their salvation and there would be no need for religion. It is not necessary to believe in a religion, you can be a Realist or a Sceptic or what have you and you can still be the most ethical person one can know. Really, it is up to the individual to choose and decide for himself how he wants to lead his life.
To believe in a religion, or any religions, would initially requires a large dose of faith, as usually, there are many aspects of its teachings and doctrines that cannot be explained logically or scientifically and have to accepted purely on faith. It is usually with time and practices of what is been taught, that one will eventually come to accept those teachings that cannot be explained logically.
Of course, for one whose faith is not so strong and do not have the patience, or for one who have a mind that is inclined more towards the validity of logical thinking and or scientific explanation, then maybe for such people, religions would not be their cup of tea.
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
That's amazing! Which Buddhist course is she attending? How long has she been involved in Buddhism and its practices?
She used to go for meditation classes with me in the late 1990s. But recently she went for formal classes at kmspks. These classes at kmspks seems to be more successful.
Regards
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Originally posted by Beautiful951:
When you say "Enter the stream", are you referring to sotapanna?If it is sotapanna, what stage of meditation does it take to achieve it?
It may not be advisable, but is it possible to meditate at a place where there is noise if I am able to ignore it?
Thanks.
Just my opinion only.
I think to enter the stream, an insight of no-self is required (plus a few other requirements). It should not just be an experience, it should be an insight. There is a difference here. The insight will 'turn-around' the way we deal with experiences in the future... which i think is what starts the ball rolling.
As for noise in meditation, dun have to fight it. For beginner, can try to meditate at a quiet place... but eventually the practice must be able to meet the different conditions of life.
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I urge all buddhsit to share more actively to ppl abt buddhism.
They believe or not just shui yuan.
Sharing with others will benefit all sentient beings.
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Originally posted by Pure Emptiness:
I urge all buddhsit to share more actively to ppl abt buddhism.
They believe or not just shui yuan.
Sharing with others will benefit all sentient beings.
Agree with you. This is something that Buddhists are weak in. Buddhists should share actively with people about Buddhism around them. Most of the older generation Buddhists seem like they do not believe in sharing. We, the younger generation Buddhists should change the trend. åŠ æ²¹ï¼�ï¼�ï¼� -
Originally posted by Dawnfirstlight:
Agree with you. This is something that Buddhists are weak in. Buddhists should share actively with people about Buddhism around them. Most of the older generation Buddhists seem like they do not believe in sharing. We, the younger generation Buddhists should change the trend. åŠ æ²¹ï¼�ï¼�ï¼�
Thanks. We must share more actively. Jiayou !!! -
I urge all buddhsit to share more actively to ppl abt buddhism.They believe or not just shui yuan. Sharing with others will benefit all sentient beings.
Agree :) Jiayou!!!
One of many other encouragement as well - 上人�利 :)
http://xuanhua.515888.net/xhimage/image2/xhzs2sl.htmAccording to sutra, the entire existence is a set of formula on molecules that forms into various states of matter (http://www.edinformatics.com/math_science/states_of_matter.htm). These molecules will vibrate by responding to conditions of mind frequencies that determine the state of nature i.e peace loving, disaster, earthquake, irregular heavy rain pour etc. It's logical and scientifically proven that the transquility of insights would do justice to the well beings of earth, none other than from wise teachings.
This concept is called homeostasis
Challenges Threaten Sustainability of Life on Earth: U.S. Expert
2010-03-23 02:34:55 Xinhua Web Editor: Ma Ting
http://english.cri.cn/6966/2010/03/23/1722s558505.htmHe said the advancements of science and technology must be in pace with society and culture, because they are mutually dependent.
According to Chien, in the human body, the essence of physiological regulation of body functions is the maintenance of the constancy of the internal environment, i.e., the physico- chemical properties of the fluids bathing the cells.
"This concept is called homeostasis. In the human race, the essence of our sustainability is the maintenance of the constancy of our external environment, i.e., the physico-chemical properties of the air, water and land we live in/on, which can also be referred to as the maintenance of homeostasis," Chien explained.
"Our biggest challenge today is to maintain the homeostasis of our external environment with the same dedication and wisdom used to maintain the homeostasis within our body," Chien stressed. -
Originally posted by simpo_:
She used to go for meditation classes with me in the late 1990s. But recently she went for formal classes at kmspks. These classes at kmspks seems to be more successful.
Regards
I see..