Just thought I'd add this in case anyone has ever wondered about buddhisim...

The Four Noble Truths
The First Noble Truthis the existence of suffering. Birth is painful and death is painful; disease and old age are painful. Not having what we desire is painful and having what we do not desire is also painful.

The Second Noble Truth is the cause of suffering. It is the craving desire for the pleasures of the senses, which seeks satisfaction now here, now there; the craving for happiness and prosperity in this life and in future lives.

The Third Noble Truth is the ending of suffering. To be free of suffering one must give up, get rid of, extinguish this very craving, so that no passion and no desire remain.

The Fourth Noble Truth leads to the ending of all pain by way of the Eightfold Path.

The Eightfold Path
The first step on that path is Right Views: You must accept the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.

The second is Right Resolve: You must renounce the pleasures of the senses; you must harbor no ill will toward anyone and harm no living creature.

The third is Right Speech: Do not lie; do not slander or abuse anyone. Do not indulge in idle talk.

The fourth is Right Behavior: Do not destroy any living creature; take only what is given to you; do not commit any unlawful sexual act.

The fifth is Right Occupation: You must earn your livelihood in a way that will harm no one.

The sixth is Right Effort: You must resolve and strive heroically to prevent any evil qualities from arising in you and to abandon any evil qualities that you may possess. Strive to acquire good qualities and encourage those you do possess to grow, increase, and be perfected.

The seventh is Right Contemplation: Be observant, strenuous, alert, contemplative, and free of desire and of sorrow.

The eighth is Right Meditation: When you have abandoned all sensuous pleasures, all evil qualities, both joy and sorrow, you must then enter the four degrees of meditation, which are produced by concentration.

Buddhist Precepts
There are five precepts taught by Buddhism that all Buddhists should follow:

Kill no living thing.
Do not steal.
Do not commit adultery.
Tell no lies.
Do not drink intoxicants or take drugs. (working on not drinking)
Other precepts apply only to monks and nuns:

Eat moderately and only at the appointed time.
Avoid that which excites the senses.
Do not wear adornments.
Do not sleep in luxurious beds. (I can't live w/o my 800 thread count sheets)
Accept no silver or gold.
Sacred Scriptures
In Theravada (Southeast Asian) Buddhism, there are three groups of writings considered to be holy scripture, known as the "Three Baskets" (Tripitaka). The Vinaya Pitaka (discipline basket) contains rules for the higher class of Buddhists; the Sutta Pitaka (teaching basket) contains the discourses of Buddha; and the Abidhamma Pitaka (metaphysical basket) contains Buddhist theology.

Mahayana (Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, etc.) Buddhism contains an incredibly large amount of holy writings, over five thousand volumes. The oldest scriptures are based on Sanskrit, while others have been written in Nepalese, Tibetan, and Chinese. There are no clear limits as to what should be admitted as scripture, so thousands of writings on the topic have been admitted.

Don't be flaggin' this post! It's in the right area. Show some love oh wise one!

JP

Thanks, cause I wonder about a lot of different stuff and look forward to reading this tomorrow morning.

Have a great night.

Buddhism A search for enlightenment without God

You know, I should think that people would really have to admire a belief system that works without a safety net. Especially one with such high standards.

In some ways very similiar to Jewish faith.

Buddhism is not a search for enlightenment "without" god. I am not buddist but I do beleive it to be one of the greatest religions that exist. In buddhism you actully have to put forth effort in order to accend... unlike some religions which I beleive people usa as excusses to not have to try.

"The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend personal God and avoid dogma and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description. If there is any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism."
-Albert Einstein

Taoism is another good one.

I prefer a natural pantheistic view myself. I don't believe in any extremism, such as trying to rid ourselves of worldliness. To me, that just doesn’t seem like the point of life. Why bother with a sensory-filled physical existence if it’s only purpose is to try to ignore it? I believe that physical creation was meant to be enjoyed. I don’t believe that there is anything wrong about enjoying physical creation.

What could be a spiritual form without any physical sensations at all? If there are any ‘sensations’ by that very definition they are ‘physical’. Physics is nothing more than that which can be sensed. So to reach a state of pure spirit would mean to cease to sense. And that would be the equivalent of death.

Form my point of view it is the physical world that is heaven. This is it folks! This is all there is. There can be no ‘perfect’ heaven. The whole idea of ‘perfection’ is a flawed idea in its own right. The idea of a ‘perfect’ god, or a ‘perfect’ heaven is nothing more than an absurd notion that can’t even be realized in pure thought. It’s an unworkable concept.

Well that was a rant. But I just think that what religion SHOULD be about, is how to appreciate this life in the very best way we possibly can. And not to focus on ways of ‘getting beyond it”. I think the idea of focusing on "getting beyond it" is the downfall of all religions.

Although it is true many Buddhists do not believe in God and God is not necesary to practice Buddhism, Buddhism in no way excludes a belief in God.

I practice elements of buddhism and taoism and I believe in a creator. They are by no means exclusive... they are just ways to live your life and to try to be a better person and be more at harmony with the world, other creatures and oneself....

Just as I believe that the 10 commandments are all good ideas and yet I do not believe in a retributary (or reward and punishment) God, so can one who attempts to follow the 8-fold path believe in a creator...

I am very new to the whole topic of Buddhisim and I started looking into it this summer more when I was reading a book called the secret and a friend of mine approached me about it and we had long discussions about it-

he said this to me - if you think buddhisim is a religion you have missed the point... I agree with this- the reason I looked into it more is because John is one of the most centered calm people I have ever met in my life- I too look for less chaos and this seems like such a great way of life- although I do believe in God still...

Namaste.

In a nutshell, Right mind, right speech, right actions.

Cause no harm.

Loving compassion for all sentient beings.

Is it a very simple place to be.

"Just be."

Soul receives from soul that knowledge, therefore not by book

nor from tongue.

If knowledge of mysteries come after emptiness of mind, that is

illumination of heart.


Rumi

If I may add, if you truly are looking to fully understand Buddhism you should understand Hinduism first. Especially if you are looking in Theravada Buddhism.

I agree with Jess, that is what I concentrate on as well. Why muddy the waters?

But also, especially for Americans, I would say Buddhism (and Taoism) tell you to pay attention to your life. Every moment is special and unique in some way.

Don't miss out on the present by regretting the past or worrying about the future.

I think this is part of "Just being" but again, in our culture it's a bit of an unusual concept so I felt the need to go into further depth.

There are alot of steps and there is a hidden last understanding that the budda finally became aware of, I know a man who went in search of enlightenment and asked some priests what the last step to understanding was and they told him that Budda had saw a man standing before him with his hands and feet pierced and wearing a crown of thorns who told him to follow him to heaven. {Sound like anyone?}
This is the last and hidden truth I am not making this up and I was told this by a very trusted friend who was not at one time christian.
Just something to think about.

*was not a christian at the time.