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Trims, -Lex Chan- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Am I a Buddhist? Ajahn Jagaro Teaching people who have only recently encountered Buddhism I am often asked the question "How do you become a Buddhist?" or "How do you know when you are a Buddhist?" This type of enquiry is indeed healthy and to be encouraged not only amongst those new to Buddhism but also for people born and raised as Buddhists. So go ahead and ask yourself: "Am I a Buddhist?" I expect that there will be many who will answer "Yes" and those who say "No", but I wonder how many will be thinking "Oh ... Ahm,.. I don't know." So let us contemplate this business of being a Buddhist a bit more. To begin our enquiry it may be worthwhile to know what the Buddha said on the matter. The following episode is taken from the Buddhist scriptures (Anguttara Nikaya, Vol IV): "Once, the Lord dwelt amongst the Sakyans in the Banyan Tree Monastery at Kapilavatthu, and while there, Mahanama the Sakyan came to him and asked; "How, Lord, does one become a lay disciple?" "When one has taken refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, then one is a lay disciple". "How, Lord, is a lay disciple virtuous?" "When a lay disciple abstains from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and drinking intoxicants, then he is virtuous." Here the Buddha clearly states that by taking refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha one becomes a disciple or, in modern terminology, a Buddhist. The classical formula of going for refuge which has been passed down from the time of the Buddha is as follows; Buddham Saranam Gacchami (I go for refuge to the Buddha) Dhammam Saranam Gacchami (I go for refuge to the Dhamma) Sangham Saranam Gacchami (I go for refuge to the Sangha) However one does not become a Buddhist through the mere repetition of these words nor by the performance of any other ceremony ritual or initiation. On the other hand, though one has not performed any ceremony or ritual, one may still be a Buddhist. Put simply, this means that no one can make you a Buddhist nor can anyone stop you from being a Buddhist. It is a volitional choice that one makes when one has sufficient confidence in the Teacher and the Teaching. In the commentaries to the scriptures it explains this as, "It is an act of consciousness devoid of defilements, motivated by confidence in and reverence for the Triple Gem"... Here I would like to relate something of my own experience to help explain this point. When I first came in contact with Buddhism I did not consider myself a religious person. If anything, I thought of myself as an atheist and felt that religion had little relevance to real life. However I did find the Buddha's Teachings and in particular the practice of meditation very appealing. I had a desire to find out more about it and this lead me into a monastery where I was eventually ordained as a monk. One day a young Thai student, wanting to practise his English, casually asked me "Are you a Buddhist?" But in my mind I wondered whether or not I was a Buddhist. I must confess that it was a strange position to be in - a Buddhist monk who doesn't know whether he is a Buddhist! Yet that situation persisted for over a year before the meaning of both the question and the answer became clear to me. During that year as I continued to study and practise the Dhamma I began to feel very comfortable with the teaching and increasingly confident that this was the way for me. With this came the conscious recognition that I had chosen the Buddha as my Teacher and considered him as the embodiment of the spiritual ideals of peace and liberation. I had also chosen to follow the path contained in his Teaching (the Dhamma) being confident that it would lead to liberation. And while on this path I would seek the guidance and try to emulate the example of all the noble disciples who constitute the Sangha. It was indeed wonderful to discover that I was a Buddhist and not just a Buddhist monk! Now becoming a Buddhist does not mean that one has to either agree with or believe in everything that is taught or practised by all the countless Buddhist sects and groups throughout the world. Nor do we have to believe that it is the only way and that all the other religions are no good. It simply means that having looked at and probed into this teaching of the Buddha, having tried it and having seen that it does work, one has confidence in it and chooses to take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and Sangha. However if you are still unsure as to whether you are a Buddhist or you are not, don't worry about it, just keep on practising. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----- Original Message ----- From: Andri Tjiu To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, April 17, 2006 9:40 AM Subject: Re: [Dharmajala] Apakah anda merasa seorang Buddhis? buddhist tidaklah dilihat dari seberapa rajin seseorang ke vihara atau berdana ataupun melapalkan sutra, atau bermeditasi mungkin selama ini kita telah terpengaruh oleh pandangan2 yang umum beredar di masyarakat bahwa "kita akan menjadi buddhist" dengan ke vihara secara rutin, mendengarkan ceramah, berdana secara materi, membaca buku2 dhamma, melapalkan sutra menurut saya seseorang menjadi buddhist jika ia melaksanan sila dengan baik, apakah itu pancasila , atthasila, atau vinaya, serta mengembangkan cinta kasihnya untuk semua mahluk tanpa terikat oleh perasaan tersebut, serta mengembangkan perhatian penuh terhadap pikirannya serta berusaha tidak terpengaruh oleh sifat2 atau apapuny yang timbul dalam pikirannya. jadi seseorang itu walaupun beragama lain, selama dia melaksanan hal tersebut dalam kehidupan sehari-hari maka dia adalah seorang buddhist. saya melihat sangat banyak sekali orang-orang di dunia, mereka mempelajari dhamma dengan sangat dalam, tetapi mereka tidak pernah melaksanakannya dalam kehidupan mereka, mereka mempelajari dhamma hanya untuk sebagai hapalan saja, pengetahuan adalah sebuah pedang bermata 2, dia dapat menjadi kawan atau lawan bagi mereka yang mengetahuinya.pengetahuannya digunakan untuk berdebat dengan pihak lain, setiap memenangkan perdebatan ia akan senang sekali, dan terus saja mencari cari dhamma, sehingga menjadi melekat terus menerus. Jadi mau seperti apakah kita-kita ini? apakah seorang buddhist sejati atau seorang yang buddhist di permukaan? semua tergantung diri masing2, pikiran manusialah yang menentukan segalanya, jika ada sebagian orang yang merasa tersinggung mohon di renungkan terlebih dahulu apa yang saya tulis disini. tetapi yang paling penting adalah tetaplah menjaga sila dengan baik ** Menyadari apa yang sesungguhnya sedang terjadi SAAT INI di dalam diri saya maupun di luar diri saya ** ** Kami kembali tuk hidup dalam kekinian yang menakjubkan; tuk menanami taman hati kami benih-benih kebajikan; serta membuat fondasi pengertian dan cinta kasih yang kokoh ** ** Kami mengikuti jalur perhatian penuh, latihan tuk melihat dan memahami secara mendalam agar mampu melihat hakikat segala sesuatu, sehingga terbebas dari belenggu kelahiran dan kematian ** ** Kami belajar tuk: berbicara dengan penuh cinta kasih, menjadi penuh welas asih, menjadi perhatian terhadap pihak-pihak lain pagi ataupun sore hari, membawa akar-akar suka cita ke banyak tempat, membantu sesama melepaskan kesedihan; dan tuk menanggapi dengan penuh rasa syukur kebajikan orang tua, para guru, serta sahabat-sahabat kami ** Yahoo! 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