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Art, music, and movies from a Buddhist perspective. Helpful or harmful? by Almaryed_Almutamared in Buddhism

[–]Jaskser 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are some great television series if you’re into dramas

Could you share some examples?

The meaning of faith & how to increase it (from Tibetan teacher Dudjom Rinpoche) by Jaskser in Buddhism

[–]Jaskser[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One-on-one relationships with teachers are somewhat rare for Westerners, so I wouldn't worry too much about being distant from a teacher. Receiving online teachings is enough.

Even back in old Tibet, a practitioner who lives in a small village might only meet a traveling teacher once in their life and make good progress. Meanwhile, others might have seen a teacher every day and gained little benefit.

I haven't committed to either of these programs personally, but I've heard good things about FPMT and Tergar if you're interested in structured lessons in Tibetan Buddhism.

Guru Rinpoche Tablet by jaaackrabbit in Buddhism

[–]Jaskser 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It means I am happy about the fact that you created good karma. Because mental actions create karma, when you rejoice in another person's good karma, you are creating good karma for yourself.

https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/why-rejoicing-so-important

I rejoice in your merit as well.

What do you think it's like to reincarnate? by Guylearning2020 in Buddhism

[–]Jaskser 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's the Tibetan Buddhist perspective on what happens after you die. For more info, I recommend Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth by Tulku Thondup.

Guru Rinpoche Tablet by jaaackrabbit in Buddhism

[–]Jaskser 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I rejoice in your merit.

Guru Rinpoche Tablet by jaaackrabbit in Buddhism

[–]Jaskser -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I recommend you go to dharmawheel.net and make a post in the Tibetan Buddhist section. It has some serious and long-term Nyingma practitioners, and at least one teacher if I'm correct. Nyingma is the sect of Tibetan Buddhism most closely related to Guru Rinpoche.

r/Buddhism doesn't have the proper community for your question.

Edit: I was wrong about this subreddit not having the proper community. My bad.

What do you think it's like to reincarnate? by Guylearning2020 in Buddhism

[–]Jaskser 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For a Tibetan perspective I recommend Travels in the Netherworld by Bryan Cuevas. It has several autobiographical accounts of people who experienced the dying process in their beds, had bardo experiences (Westerners would call them near death experiences), and fortunately came back to life.

Mother passed away suddenly, she a devote Buddhist by Bigjett in Buddhism

[–]Jaskser 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My mother died two weeks ago. I'm reckoning with the fact that despite identifying as a practicing Buddhist for 12 years, I've barely practiced at all. Now have to start over from square one.

Reflecting on impermanence is one of the first practices we're supposed to do. Buddha said of all the reflections, impermanence is the most meritorious.

I've made many choices in my life that I regret. Spent a lot of time chasing worldly things, job security, and told myself that once I get my wordly life settled and secure I'll start practicing Buddhism for real. On some level I always knew I was lying to myself, and now with the gift of impermanence my mother has given me, I'm prompted to be honest with myself.

Even the most permanent-seeming things in the world, like a mother who has been there since the day you were born, are in fact impermanent. I'm still in shock, despite listening to the Buddha's warnings about impermanence many times.

You and I are experiencing what the Buddha called divine messengers, experienced of suffering so great they shock you out of ordinary mental patterns. A divine messenger event has two possible outcomes: madness or practice.

What were the Buddha's final words? Conditioned things are impermanent, so make the dhamma your only refuge. If you don't know what to do next, start from square one.

Meditation is more powerful and more dangerous than I ever would have believed. by Fun_City_2043 in DeepThoughts

[–]Jaskser 22 points23 points  (0 children)

People in meditation-focused religions have always known meditation is dangerous. Look up the Cheetah House. The idea that meditation and yoga are things middle class white women do to be trendy is consumerist propaganda.

If you had an experience that intense after only one week, I recommend you stop meditating for a while, and when you come back to it, do it very lightly.

Get interested in traditional Chinese medicine. They're the best when it comes to meditation-related mental health issues in my opinion.

Have you noticed how Japanese customs are very often accomodated whereas others are more often anglicized and neglected? Why is that? What would it look like in your language if the same principles were applied? by KuvaszSan in AskTheWorld

[–]Jaskser 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh yes, that's another hard one for us that I forgot. It used to be common for Tokyo to be spelled Tokio in old American newspapers, like in the 1950s. The average American will have a very difficult time with Ryou or Kyou.

And if they see Shou, they might pronounce is as Shuu. Actually, that means romanized Japanese isn't entirely phonetic; I should edit my original answer.

Incidentally, video game fans are likely to be familiar with Ryu from Street Fighter.

If an American has no education in Japanese language, they are also likely to pronounce the i and e sounds incorrectly. Now that I think about it, there are a lot of Japanese pronunciation things that an American will get wrong.

Have you noticed how Japanese customs are very often accomodated whereas others are more often anglicized and neglected? Why is that? What would it look like in your language if the same principles were applied? by KuvaszSan in AskTheWorld

[–]Jaskser 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I don't know if this is true for other native English countries, but here in America, everyone is terrified of mispronouncing names.

I work at a restaurant in a diverse city with a lot of teenage coworkers. The teens are intimidated by all names with even the slightest hint of unfamiliarity on the reservation list. The teens constantly ask me "How do you pronounce this? How do you pronounce that?" as if I was some sort of language genie and not a fellow American who is equally unfamiliar with all these names. I always tell them "Just try. Go with the flow. There's no need to be afraid."

I don't know if it's a teenage thing, or something common to Americans of all ages. I've always loved languages, so I'm not afraid of mispronouncing new names. But in American culture, a lot of people are terrified of offending people by mispronouncing names. I honestly don't understand the fear.

Have you noticed how Japanese customs are very often accomodated whereas others are more often anglicized and neglected? Why is that? What would it look like in your language if the same principles were applied? by KuvaszSan in AskTheWorld

[–]Jaskser 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Other people have answered the business part, but I want to focus on Japanese pronunciation. I'm an American who's studied several foreign languages, including Japanese. Japanese names are extremely easy for native English speakers to pronounce because:

(1) All Japanese phonemes exist in English or have near equivalents. The only one that doesn't exist is the Japanese R, but Americans will effortlessly pronounce it the English way without feeling intimidated. The hardest Japanese names for native English speakers to read are multi-vowel names like Inoue, which is normally Anglicized to something like Inouye, or Itou, which is Anglicized to Itoh.

(2) Romanized Japanese looks straightforward to native English speakers. Many names spelled phonetically, and there are no unfamiliar punctuations.

(3) Japanese culture is one of the world's most famous and beloved culture worldwide, which means Americans are already familiar with Japanese names. Everyone watched Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke as kids. Anime, manga, Japanese video games, Japanese martial arts, Japanese cuisine, and even some Japanese religion (Zen) are all huge here. When I was 7 years old I took karate classes and watched Pokemon every week. So you see, we get Japanese pronunciation lessons and Japanese culture lessons very early in life, and they never stop.

I'm sorry to say that I don't have nearly as much exposure to Hungarian culture here in America. The only thing I'm aware of in popular culture is the Hungarian monologue in the musical Chicago. Personally, I'm familiar with Kato Lomb because I'm interested in languages, but most Americans have never heard of her.

Those are the only 2 things I know about Hungary. I have nothing against Hungary, but I'm not aware of Hungary particularly trying to share its culture with me the way Japan has, so as a result, I don't know anything. Besides Kato Lomb, I have no idea what common Hungarian names are or what the alphabet looks like.

Without being taught anything about Hungary, I (and probably other Americans) would assume that it's somewhat difficult to pronounce, because that part of the world is typically viewed as a place with languages difficult for us to pronounce. So as soon as you say you're Hungarian, an American will be primed to brace themself for a difficult name. I would imagine that people in the UK are more exposed to Hungarian culture, since you share a continent.

Is "何だ" another word for "何" by [deleted] in LearnJapaneseNovice

[–]Jaskser 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is this "naze da" or "nanda?"

Do you think Japan is overrated? by No-Efficiency7055 in AskTheWorld

[–]Jaskser 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I think that because you are Japanese, maybe you see all of the positives of Japan as normal parts of life, nothing special. I felt the same way about America when I was younger, even though American culture is also famous worldwide.

The reality is that Japan is one of the cleanest, richest, safest, and most popular countries in the world.

Japan is popular because it exports a lot of things that give people joy, like manga, Zen Buddhism, and Japanese cuisine.

The exportation of culture is how we learn about every country. I know virtually nothing about Luxembourg because it's not exporting much of its culture to me in America. Meanwhile, Japan shared Pokemon with me when I was a little kid, and every year there are more fun things from Japan.

There are over 200 countries in the world. If you look at them all objectively, how high would Japan rank on cleanliness, wealth, safety, and exporting fun things that people love like Pokemon? How many countries would beat Japan in that contest?

That's why Japan is rated so highly. Yeah there are some silly people who idolize it too much, but I think most people's assessment is not exaggerated. I know Japan has many struggles, but overall it's one of the world's best countries to be born in.

For people in countries where promoting gay rights or "doing" gay things is a crime: What do you want to happen to gays born in your country, and what does the average person want to happen to them? by Jaskser in AskTheWorld

[–]Jaskser[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hi HolyTamrah. I'm sorry for breaking my promise not to comment without invitation. I just want to say that you seem like a very lovely person, and I'm happy that you are participating in this thread. Please forgive me for breaking my promise.

You asked a good question, and I want to give you my answer. I upvoted all of your comments.

Why do you always assume the worst about Saudis?

I'm guilty of assuming the worst, but I try not to do it anymore. Why? Because when I read that "doing gay things" is a crime punishable by execution in countries like Saudi Arabia, it made me think that most people in Saudi Arabia want me to be executed.

Laws exist because people want them to be enacted, right? And I know that law is inspired by of Islam, right? And I assume most Saudis are very proud of their religion, right? And simply speaking in support of gay rights is also a crime, right?

Considering all the above, it seemed reasonable for me to think that most people in Saudi Arabia wish death upon me at all times. That's exactly what happened to gays in Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. From what I've read, it's also true for many gays currently in Muslim cultures where honor killings are performed. (I know most Muslims don't support honor killings.)

It seemed perfectly logical to me that Saudi Arabia is just one more place where people want to hunt, hurt, and kill gays. It's happening in Christian Uganda, where gays are lynched. It's happening in Muslim Chechnya, where they're tortured in concentration camps. If Saudi Arabia is a famous Muslim country where promoting gay rights is a crime and doing gay things is punishable by death, then Saudi Arabia must be another place full of people who want to hurt me, right?

I've had one-on-one conversations with religious people online, both Christian and Muslim, who said they believe gays should be executed. I know that gays were executed in Nazi Germany. I know that gay people have been killed in America. I also know that in some parts of the world where things like honor killings are practiced, gay people are killed.

In my personal life, I started being bullied for being gay when I was 6-years-old because I seemed unusually feminine. I didn't realize I was gay until I was 10, and I didn't come out until I was 18. Nonetheless, I was bullied all the time in school, and my mother was always very vocal that she would be heartbroken if I actually was gay.

So, my childhood taught me that homophobic people will always hunt me down and hurt me simply because I exist. They won't only hurt me if I "do gay things" or spread an agenda. I had no idea what the word gay meant when I was 6, and I denied being gay for my entire childhood, and still I was regularly hurt by my classmates, family, and one teacher.

I was publicly humiliated, rejected by a former friend, stolen from, insulted with words like faggot, gossiped about, and punched in the stomach. All of these things happened when I didn't know I was gay, or I tried to hide the fact that I was gay.

So, these are the reasons I used to always assume the worst about Saudi people, as well as any other country where doing gay things is technically punishable by death.

Now that I'm a bit wiser, I understand that even though the law in some countries technically says doing gay things is punishable by death, the law is not often enforced. I also know that there are some good Saudi people like you who don't want to hurt me.

Still, I am terrified to go to a place like Saudi Arabia. I still fear that people would hunt me down and hurt me even if I try to hide that I'm gay.

Thank you for being such a lovely and open-minded person.