This is one of the most coherent and wise posts on this board in my opinion. Thank you.
I had an interesting introduction to Buddhism as a young boy living in Indonesia on the island of Java: my Dad, ever the nomad, took us to see Borobudur near Jogjakarta, on our way east to Bali. It is one of the largest Buddhist monuments in the world. I ran up and down the steps and around the terraces all day. Also reaching into the stupas on the monument as a curious young boy would to touch the seated Buddhas within. Many years later I read that to touch the foot of the Buddha within one of the stupas on Borbudur brings good fortune. Then ten years ago I met a lovely woman to whom I am now engaged. She had recently sailed around the world, visiting Borobudur during her travels. While there she purchased a beautiful batik showing Borobudur, which we then had framed and is now displayed in our living room. --- In [email protected], "Llundrub" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > You lump all Buddhists together and then separate some schools out. Like Nicherin and Pure land. Which is it? Are Buddhists nihilists or not? > > If you really want a clue start by reading the Madhyamikavatara by Chandrakirti. > > The life and stories of Buddha are truely beautiful. Buddha is said to have taught 84,000 teachings. He started teaching when he was 34 and taught until he died at 80 under the same type of tree that he was born under. The Sal tree. A totally common Indian forest tree. He was born in the woods and died in the woods. His life is not some common story but is the story of the sadhu in retreat figuring out what the limits of the human mind are. He is the Aranyaka. The inward movement of human mental capability. Go figure. > > One of the main features of Buddhism of any school is the emphasis on meditation by all people regardless of caste, creed, or denomination, race, sex, or lifestyle. This is a difference between other yogic schools which have great committments usually, and or demand life changes before starting, and which are for the most part sexist. > > A secondary and truely useful feature of Buddhism in general is that since all Buddhist masters developed through meditation, in the Buddhist cannon and commentaries, the Kangyur and Tangyur, are a profound wealth of real meditation experiences and outcomes which are plain in wording and easy to follow. This is helpful as a guide. Something not truely available anywhere else in any other religion even Hinduism. > > Even in the Buddhist tantras are so much profound knowledge that as soon as discovered one wonders, what took me so long too find this precious knowledge. Even today, 2,500 years later enough people of realization in the world thank Buddha for the directions, that Buddhism is totally alive still. And thanks to the Stupa building and other monument building of Buddha lovers world wide, each one jam packed full of Buddhist artifacts, Buddhism will never die out on this planet. A time capsule of Buddhism will exist somewhere forever or as close to that as is valuable to know. > > Furthermore, Buddhist is not doom and gloom and does not have dire prophecies about world wide destruction so it enables one to relax and not strike some assumed and fanatical stance. Nor does it preach. > > Moreover, there is not one goal of Buddhists per se. There are nine main rides in Buddhism. To all who read this I recommend the study of the 'highest first.' That is called Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, and I recommend the specific books, Heart Drops of Dharmakaya, and Wonders of the Natural Mind. > > Of course that is because I regard most of you highly as real yogis, or meditation masters, or otherwise I would recommend studying the outer Vajrayana teachings first like the Ngondro and preliminaries. > > For myself, when I hear the Buddha's teachings it really takes me back a couple thousand years and it's very soothing. On Saka Dawa, hearing Buddha's life story again I broke down crying yet again. The story always gets me. It's very powerful to hear it from a Lama who has tried to actualize the teachings in every thought word and deed. The same careful teachings of love for all, the 4 Noble, and compassion are the same today as they were yesterday. It's a message that doesn't change. It didn't change in the first hundred years after Buddha, nor in the first thousand years, nor in the second thousand years, nor will it change in the third thousand, and the message is still clear and can be explained to the intellect's satisfaction. > > I hope you all find intellectual satisfaction about the path to liberation in this very life. May you all be healthy wealthy and wise. > > > > To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
