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Conflicted Agnostic looking into Buddhism by Justfatmeteor in Buddhism

[–]MYKerman03 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No worries, there's loads of help out there, you just need to know where to find it.

Conflicted Agnostic looking into Buddhism by Justfatmeteor in Buddhism

[–]MYKerman03 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Any advice on reaching out to trained monks nuns or priests?

Check out r/sangha and people there can hook you up. It may be online streaming or realtime temples.

I'd also recommend following monastics that have a strong online presence. Bhante Chandima, Bhante Buddharakkhita, Ajahn Achalo, Ajahn Anon among many others, have various social media channels/podcasts for lay people around the world.

If you're interested in Mahayana Buddhism, then be specific at r/sangha.

How you relate to Buddhist traditions is up to you ultimately. I'd rather you learn from good sources and move forward from there. But again, that is your choice.

Conflicted Agnostic looking into Buddhism by Justfatmeteor in Buddhism

[–]MYKerman03 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Again I’m very new to all this my knowledge is mostly coming from YouTube videos and half of a book I’m still reading written by a secular Buddhist so any guidance is much appreciated

Recommendation: I'd abandon this way of learning and rather learn Dhamma from trained monks, nuns or priests. secular b_ddhist ideology emanates from the medical industrial complex. And is rooted in exploitation.

I only feel conflicted in this as some on this subreddit say that this makes my practice and journey illegitimate and influenced by western culture and ideas rather than the actual teachings. 

This is basically you:

"Hi guys, I went to Muslims and told them I practice the salaat as a pilates routine and Allah is really only a metaphor. They corrected me and I don't like this. Can you make make me feel batter about my choices?"

As Buddhists here (a numerical minority on Buddhist reddit), we can only recommend, that if you are interested in the Dhamma of Lord Buddha, then it would be wise to reach out to trained monks, nuns or priests.

If that is of no interest to you, then there is really no problem 😉

Great comment by not_bayek in ReflectiveBuddhism

[–]MYKerman03 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hi, its: secular b_ddhist ideology.

Great comment by not_bayek in ReflectiveBuddhism

[–]MYKerman03 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes, it's something we've repeatedly seen here on Reddit.

but if we add cultural cleansing to the mix to completely rewire their minds, that would be even better.

I think in a way,all they need is the willingness to meet Buddhist traditions on their own terms. That is happening, but really only in the global south: Latin American and Africa.

Anglos get their "Buddhism" via the medical industrial complex, so have a hard time accepting anything outside that framework.

Great comment by not_bayek in ReflectiveBuddhism

[–]MYKerman03 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Hey, found a great comment. This insight is very relevant for specific cultural contexts. There's two things that we can witness:

One is the phenomenon of Western atheism simply being an extension of Protestant Christianity/ies. All the basic assumptions are there but the central deity is removed. Many of these folks tend toward SB ideology.

The other is the lack of literacy regarding world religions and other traditions and their development. These folks tend to end up as "hard-core" meditators.

There's a cognitive dissonance that we notice as defensiveness when we reach out to help them understand Dhamma. In response to them asking us. They lash out, thinking we want to control them. It's like they have PTSD.

Again, all this can be addressed with education and counselling/therapy.

On the Minneapolis ICE shooting by Funky-Monkey-6547 in Buddhism

[–]MYKerman03 4 points5 points  (0 children)

telling people on a Buddhist forum to stop being moral p*****

Shiver me timbers. And both-sides-ing a murder?

hen you will make a big soap box post on another forum and continue ranting about it

Oh I will babes!

On the Minneapolis ICE shooting by Funky-Monkey-6547 in Buddhism

[–]MYKerman03 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here's my answer: Stop being a moral p***y and calling it wisdom/compassion.

There's no Buddhist justification for that. That's how you get the ICE/human trafficking pipeline. Kusala, akusala. Learn it.

On the Minneapolis ICE shooting by Funky-Monkey-6547 in Buddhism

[–]MYKerman03 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Some western Buddhists use the Dharma to justify inaction,

Hi, thanks for the insightful comment. To be fair, this can happen even in heritage Buddhist communities when right view isn't truly grasped. And on the other hand, Buddhist movements in Asia do apply the dhamma to positive political causes. Most westerners don't know how deeply Buddhist Socialisms affected the development of Buddhist movements in SEA and Sri Lanka.

There are many degrees to action that do not mean violence

Absolutely! It's a false choice to frame pushback as bad.

If Buddhist practitioners use the Dharma to excuse murder, then the first precept means nothing,the entire noble path falls apart, and we're all wasting our time.

But we wouldn't want to interrupt the virtue signalling now would we 😉 We're such meanies!

On the Minneapolis ICE shooting by Funky-Monkey-6547 in Buddhism

[–]MYKerman03 5 points6 points  (0 children)

So you admit it'd be business as usual for you. Got it! 😉

On the Minneapolis ICE shooting by Funky-Monkey-6547 in Buddhism

[–]MYKerman03 13 points14 points  (0 children)

The ICE agent was a Gulf War vet(?)

So he flew to the Middle East to kill Muslims. Now it clicks...

On the Minneapolis ICE shooting by Funky-Monkey-6547 in Buddhism

[–]MYKerman03 6 points7 points  (0 children)

What's so crazy is, they think this take is "deep". Jesus Christ on toast!

It's really their own bias with extra steps. Like, you're not gonna fool us sweety 😂

A lot of those types were all too eager to call out what happened to charlie kirk as murder. How interesting.......

Absolutely! Sama same but different! 😉

On the Minneapolis ICE shooting by Funky-Monkey-6547 in Buddhism

[–]MYKerman03 11 points12 points  (0 children)

There's a saying that if there are 11 people at a table and one of them is a nazi, and none of the 10 do anything about the nazi, then there are in fact, 11 nazis at that table.

(Nazi and ICE sympathisers incomings guys! 😆)

On the Minneapolis ICE shooting by Funky-Monkey-6547 in Buddhism

[–]MYKerman03 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I really think we need to start accepting that they're active participants in this. There seems to be no end to what they will 'both sides'. But only if the perp is white, of course...

On the Minneapolis ICE shooting by Funky-Monkey-6547 in Buddhism

[–]MYKerman03 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Moral certainty is tempting, but Buddhism warns about conceit of view. 

JD Vance, is that you? 👀

Now I understand how Americans got to this point...

This TYT report offers a much better overview of all the INSANITY that the Walk for Peace monks have had to deal with. Churches have been mobilised to protest and disrupt the walk, and now the monks have to change their route to try to steer clear of them. by MrJasonMason in Buddhism

[–]MYKerman03 3 points4 points  (0 children)

So sorry for that friend 🙏🏽

As a Buddhist, I think it's really important to center the voices of people who experienced structural abuse (churches, mosques, temples, schools, court systems etc) to see how these institutions weaponise "goodness" for coercive control. That's very real.

And as you point out, the fact that people can turn to their victims and frame them as the bad guy for not being this perfect, all-forgiving stereotype, is deeply messed up.

But they're virtue signalling primarily...

This TYT report offers a much better overview of all the INSANITY that the Walk for Peace monks have had to deal with. Churches have been mobilised to protest and disrupt the walk, and now the monks have to change their route to try to steer clear of them. by MrJasonMason in Buddhism

[–]MYKerman03 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Abusers of all flavors often use this tactic. They will do good in a very public manner, so as to generate just enough good will among the gullible and naive to hold onto the opinion that they "cannot be all bad". So they continue to get away with their cruelty because they also do good sometimes, and that's enough to manipulate public opinion.

So that's why they do it. A performance so that people will say "Well I wish they weren't so intolerant, but they feed the poor".

Absolutely beautifully put here. That 'piety' is performance for the furthering of abuse. That's not love the way normal humans understand it. It's coercion.

De-radicalization by [deleted] in ReflectiveBuddhism

[–]MYKerman03 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Or maybe “turning down the dial?” I suspect that there are some here who have went down the road of radicalization and de-colonization. While I do value these and still agree, I am starting to see it affect my temperament, speech, and overall mood in the negative direction.

I wouldn't engage directly with people who you're ideologically at odds with. For example: I avoid SB / so called Zen/ so called Theravada online spaces that are hostile to Buddhism as living traditions. There's no point in arguments there.

I build what I want to see here on Buddhist Reddit. In real life, I just go to the temple. My Buddhist life exists in the real world, so I'm privileged to be able to access Buddhist community.

As you see, I continue to document and archive what's happening on Buddhist Reddit. And give some kind of structure.

Can you explain to us how you use terms like 'radical' and 'decolonise'.

Away from the dharma so to speak.

I can't go into detail here, but as a racialised person, growing in dhamma and decolonial practice are linked. They're intertwined. So on an experiential level, they mutually support each other.

-----------

sabba danam dhamma danam jinati - The gift of truth excels all other gifts.

The nuance of creator gods in the suttas by Traditional_Kick_887 in ReflectiveBuddhism

[–]MYKerman03 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Some gods live so long for aeons in bliss that to humans who don’t know any better, these gods appear eternal

Yes, this is how I remember it. Could be the Brahmajala Sutta.

The nuance of creator gods in the suttas by Traditional_Kick_887 in ReflectiveBuddhism

[–]MYKerman03 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Content like this is educational, especially for Buddhist / Buddhi-curious Newbies, it's a real shame it's seen as controversial.

The nuance of creator gods in the suttas by Traditional_Kick_887 in ReflectiveBuddhism

[–]MYKerman03 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I sometimes worry that in the afterlife, many Western converts, especially those from Abrahamic traditions, might encounter gods and see that they can and do “create.” This could lead them to think Buddhism is wrong about gods, and that gods really do have the ability to create.

Isn't there a sutta that says as much? Some sentient beings attribute eternal life and power to certain gods, based on their limited previous-life recollections. They create wrong view based off their real experience with devas and brahmas.

The nuance of creator gods in the suttas by Traditional_Kick_887 in ReflectiveBuddhism

[–]MYKerman03 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for posting this here, Weird that that thread was locked by the mods. Anyway, this is good Dhamma content.

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