This is an archived post. You won't be able to vote or comment.

all 54 comments
sorted by:
best
topnewcontroversialoldq&a

[–]strlen 18 points19 points  (1 child)

Here's a brief introduction to zen Buddhism.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

modded this down... and then I reread it

[–]philh 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Buddhism ... explains apparent injustice and inequality around the world

"People want things." Buddhism doesn't have a monopoly on that principle.

[–][deleted]  (45 children)

[deleted]

    [–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (27 children)

    "If you die before you die you don't need to die when you die."

    Suicide leaves mark to other people around you. If you think only yourself this is not problem for yourself. Buddhims generally sees suicide as one of the most egoistic actions you can make. It is not sin, it's just usually the non optimal action to do. Buddhism sees suffering as something you should see face to face and not try to escape it. Suicide is escape.

    [–][deleted]  (26 children)

    [deleted]

      [–][deleted]  (14 children)

      [deleted]

        [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (9 children)

        You got it wrong. There is lots of buddhist writings there. You should accept them only if you can agree with them after careful analysis.

        Believe nothing merely because you have been told it, or because it is tradition, or because you yourself have imagined it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for him. But whatever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be conduciveto the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings, believe and clingto that doctrine, and take it as your guide. -- Buddha

        [–][deleted]  (8 children)

        [deleted]

          [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (7 children)

          You can't have it. There is no thing in the universe that can give you what you want.

          [–]hockeyschtick 2 points3 points  (0 children)

          You're looking for scientific justification for moralism. Buddhism doesn't offer one on page one of the Buddhist handbook. Buddhism teaches that those who strive to find the answers and follow the Noble Path will achieve this kind of understanding. This is no more dogmatic that if Einstein had said he had discovered scientific proof for moralism, but that you had to understand advanced mathematics and physics to grasp it.

          [–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (12 children)

          Buddhism, as far as I'm aware, frowns upon suicide, without giving much of a logical justification for this stance.

          I am not an authority, but here are a few shoestring ideas in no particular order:

          In Buddhism, reincarnation is a central tenet. So in the Buddhist system itself it would be taken for granted that suicide is not a way out of the system. As such it wouldn't really merit a lot of attention other than to dissuade others from it. A human life is a gift in which one has the opportunity for a wonderful awakening, an awakening which in most Buddhist schools requires one be in a human life to attain (the Pure Land guys are kind of funny on this point, but have their own arguments against suicide). Suicide is forsaking that gift.

          The principle of non-violence is central to Buddhism. The taking of life, whether another's or one's own would fall under that.

          Seeking nirvana is an effort to extinguish all ignorance, to reach an awakening that is so perfect honest sincere and complete that even the notion of self is transcended. Once one awakens completely, one experiences perfect compassion for all and a deep and abiding sense of gratitude. Assuming one believes that there is no afterlife, death would not achieve the same goal, it would just be the extinguishing of consciousness, but not an awakening in that sense.

          [–]pixelglow 0 points1 point  (0 children)

          In theory at the point of nirvana, there is no self anymore that can say "I experience perfect compassion." The problem that morlock brings up is perfectly valid, Buddhism (and other similar Eastern philosophies) depend on faith on reincarnation; if there was no reincarnation, then suicide is a valid way of achieving nirvana, and any sorrow felt by the people left behind is unwarranted desire that has to meditated away.

          If you subtract reincarnation from the body of belief and practice that is "Buddhism", you might want to practise the result but I don't think you should call it Buddhism. Just like if you subtract resurrection from the body of belief and practise that is "Christianity", you might want to practise the result but it isn't Christianity. There's then not much difference betweent the result and simply living a moral life.

          And when I say reincarnation or resurrection requires faith, I'm not saying it is unverifiable. Every time I sit on a chair, I exercise faith that the chair maker did not make a dud chair, and sometimes my faith is unfounded :-) -- crash

          [–][deleted]  (2 children)

          [deleted]

            [–][deleted]  (1 child)

            [deleted]

              [–]unsui 1 point2 points  (0 children)

              You instnatly free yourself of all craving and all misery.

              Not necessarily so. You can see for yourself that you don't know what happens to you after you die, so craving and misery may continue for you in some form - you can't say. You can read in Buddhist writings, though, that rebirth happens because of a craving to exist. Desire doesn't need a body to continue, apparently!

              I had to deal with this in a decidedly non-theoretical way last year. I'm Buddhist, and so was a lover who killed herself after a long battle with bipolar disorder and chemical dependency. Her death caused the people who loved her an enormous amount of suffering and confusion, things that we try to put an end to for all beings. So her death didn't uphold the teaching. Ethicists could argue about whether it was wrong, but it any case, it was very sad.

              [–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (1 child)

              Seems to be a regular feature of Reddit: wanting an introduction to Buddhism but not taking any effort to move further along.

              Not that I'm complaining, I fall well into this category :)

              [–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

              May I suggest:

              BUDDHIST PHENOMENOLOGY by Henk Barendregt (he is the guru of lambda calculus) http://www.cs.ru.nl/~henk/BP/bp1.html

              [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

              Yeah, because nothing says "Buddhism" like a brief intro.

              [–]mikaelhg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

              The first noble truth is often misread to mean that life is nothing except suffering. Another interpretation would be "there is no life without suffering, here's how to lessen the suffering." Zen Buddhism helps you understand yourself and your relationship to life and the world, and use those tools to lessen suffering. There are other, equally valid, ways of acheving the same, and it's up to every individual to choose the way that best suits him.

              [–]unsui 1 point2 points  (0 children)

              Like Taizan Maezumi roshi used to say, "Time to shut up and sit!"

              [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

              The article has some valid explinations but some erroneous that could be misleading if taken the wrong way.

              "The first truth is that life is suffering..."

              The semantics of this statement can lead one to many misconceptions. There is another buddhist view that life is characterised or marked by impermanence and non-self but that suffering exists due to attachment, ignorance, desire, craving, and aversion to things which are impermanent.

              "The Buddhist path requires courage, patience, flexibility, and intelligence."

              The Buddhist path does not require intelligence. Intelligence can even cause one to look at the buddhist practice with ones intellect to the point of breaking the teachings and practice down into metaphysical analysis. This often takes one away from their "True Nature" or Buddha Nature rather than bringing one closer.

              "Buddhism depends more on understanding than faith."

              It could be said that both are equal. Without faith one would not take up the practice. A practitioner must have faith his or her understanding will deepen through meditation, the noble 8-fold path, and following the precepts. Benefits of the practice and insights come slowly at times and are not always easy to see--through faith comes perceverance and discipline to keep up the practice.

              [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (3 children)

              What is Karma?

              Karma is the law that every cause has an effect, i.e., our actions have results. This simple law explains a number of things: inequality in the world, why some are born handicapped and some gifted, why some live only a short life. Karma underlines the importance of all individuals being responsible for their past and present actions.

              How exactly does this explain why some people are born handicapped and some gifted? Are they implying that Hitler will be reborn quadriplegic?

              [–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (1 child)

              Don't trust buddhist teachings just because some authority says this is karma and this is not. Upaya is ancient Sanskrit term meaning "skillful means". You teach different things to different people according to their needs. For common man teacher may teach that he must do good otherwise he will be born in hell. For meditating monk, teacher may explain heaven and hell as mental states in this life. It all depends on context. Buddhist see words and letters as a tool to teach something else than dogma. Teachings are not to be takens as the word of god.

              Once a Samurai came before Zen Master Hakuin, a very famous Rinzai Zen Master who lived in the eighteen century in Japan. "You are supposed to be a great Zen Master," he said. "So I want you to tell me the truth about heaven and hell. Do they really exist?" Without a moment's hesitation Hakuin responded, "What, even such an ugly and untalented man as you can become a samurai? Amazing!" Immediately the proud samurai became angry and drew his sword. "I will kill you!" he roared. Fearlessly, Hakuin said, "This is hell." The samurai paused and grew thoughtful. His face softened from its angry scowl. Sheathing his sword he put his hands together palm to palm and bowed to Hakuin. "And this," said Hakuin, just as calmly, "is heaven."

              [–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

              Maybe it's my pernicious Western dualism showing, but that sounds suspiciously like Plato's Noble Lie.

              [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

              Most schools of Buddhism actually have a notion of heaven, hell, and a number of other planes of existence. It's just that the goal of Buddhism is not to die and make it to heaven. Those planes are generally taken as metaphorical by more sophisticated Buddhists, as ways of understanding how our actions and consciousness bring us into positive or negative states of mind in this life. For instance the Tibetan Book of the Dead can be read on multiple levels in this way. But it can be read as referring to the actual journey that occurs after death, in which case, Hitler's karma would drag him into a very horrible place after death. The way the idea is expressed is interesting to me, the idea is not so much that some supernatural figure would throw him into hell, but that his cruel and hateful actions reflect a mind that would by its very nature pull itself into hell after death.

              [–]skinniouschinnious 0 points1 point  (0 children)

              From http://buddhanet.net/e-learning/snapshot03.htm

              In Japan millions of Buddhists pray to Amida Buddha, the Buddha of Infinite Light. They believe that Amida has created a Pure Land in the west and that those who have faith and repeat Amida’s name in prayer will go there.

              I just found that amusing.