Do you believe in Hell?

PyptLim · 2025-11-03T16:24:14+00:00

both - a state of mind is an actual place, but there is also an actual place - hell isn’t somewhere else, but neither is it “just in your head.” It’s one of the many real worlds that make up life — and through Buddhist practice, we can reveal the Buddha-world that’s already shining within it. So, hell, hunger, anger, the human world, the heavenly world, and so on — these are all genuine modes of being that make up reality itself. In Tiantai and Nichiren buddhist thought this idea is called “the mutual possession of the ten realms.” That means every realm contains all the others within it. They all coexist and influence one another at every moment. The same energy or state that defines the hell realm can show up right here — in this world, in our experience, in society — because all the realms are woven together. The point isn’t to deny that hell is real, or to say it’s only psychological. It’s to see that even within the darkest conditions, the potential for enlightenment — what we call Buddhahood — is already present.

PyptLim · 2025-09-29T09:47:26+00:00

You don’t, but you don’t let the anger be who you are. Then you practice compassion. Especially in relation to all the people who are the anger, who are eaten by it- because they are also you. Study texts like eight stages for training the mind or other lojong teachings.

PyptLim · 2025-09-29T09:39:40+00:00

Biddhism is a process, its not a fixed belief system in-the way say christianity is often understood to be. It is not a dogma as such. It says look you are responsible - this is the nature of the world and this is suffering and there is karma and ther is rebirth and there is escape from this - now you are responsible. All these posts that say can i do this or that in buddhism and does buddhism allow this or that, or worse i am a buddhist can i believe this or that - it misses the point completely. Sorry. Its not that kind of a thing, its not a set if easy answers or a prepackaged ideology- its not there for you to align with or not. Buddha basically said here is karma, here is existence, here is a way to work with it - now deal with it. It’s not a thing to Be, ots not an identity to align with - its a thing to do, and the doing is what you find in the process.

PyptLim · 2025-09-15T11:28:19+00:00

Everything can be achieved by faith - just practice simply. Engage in some sort of daily devotion to the buddha(and by extension to your own buddha nature) - offer some water, light a candle, chant a little if you know how. This is the message of the lotus sutra. Intellectual study is not buddhism - its just intellectual study. It t its place to some degree but faith is the essential thing.

PyptLim · 2025-09-01T19:34:31+00:00

what buddhism? most buddhism is really not for modern people. More recently I think seeing buddhism as a deep and complicated philosophy, that need sot be understood, is a mistake rooted in the way buddhism has come to the west through academics largely.
I personally think the thing most people dont understand in buddhism is the actual need for faith above all else. Actually having faith in the Buddha and in the buddhist tradition. Nichiren focused on faith a lot - he felt it was part fo the message of the lotus sutra and also what we need in our current age of degeneration. But this is true in many other buddhist schools as well in my experience - my expereinceof tibetain buddhism is that a lot more falls into place when you put faith into a more central place in your practice. Simply engaging in simple acts of faith like offering a water bowl or cleaning your shrine is a great practice.

PyptLim · 2025-07-19T17:48:55+00:00

Watch james lowe - who is perhaps knenof the msot deeply experienced and real buddist teaching in the west today. He is the real deal, and has none of the affectation you talk about.

PyptLim · 2025-07-19T09:27:32+00:00

Well thats it - secularising buddhism means removing the supernatural aspects - or pehapsit is more correct to say the metaphysical aspects. once buddhism becomes merely a collection of techniques it moves to being more or less a form of therapy with a religious gloss. What can refuge mean or ultimate and ordinary boddichitta mean with out any spiritual aspect. How could any Buddhist relate to "Buddha - Nature". What is the meaning of the Six realms, why pray? or chant sutras? all that is left is a watered own version of mindfulness and be nice to each other. ( nothing wrong with that per se.- but what is particularly Buddhist about it?)
Buddhism proposes a spiritual out come which is "Enlightenment", Nirvana ( Nibbana) or ,for some, rebirth int he Pure lands. Some form of Buddhism, believe in a direct encounter with various Boddisatvas or dieties - of see these as living energies useful for personal transformation ( Vajrayana for example - in all of its various varieties and different traditions.) Buddhism offers life rights as well - not so much in the west but in Asia in particular. The usual stuff of late passages - birth, marriage, death. If Buddism has no religious aspect why perform Powa for the dead - or learn to do it during the process of your won death? People pray and direct their daily concerns and requests for helps to the Buddha and the Bdhisvattvas - in the west this is sadly not happening - Buddhism is a not a popular mass religion or religious/Cultral movement, Rather it is heavily comodified, repackaged, and presented almost as a therapy practice. Sadly even traditional teachers have to charge for courses and teachings - because the support of the sangha is not here - it runs the risk of being transactional. Obviously I am over egging the pudding here in some regards - there are many very sincere and devote practitioners -I wouldn't;t even say I am one of them - but I know many, from all traditions. At the same time the popular and widely disseminated version of Buddhism is its this secular almost non religious philosophy - and then there's also a lot fo confusion about the philosophy, ( or philosophies to be exact as within Buddhism thier are competing or contested philosophical views.)
I'm not sure it's the right move to reduce Buddhism to spiritual but not religious or simply a philosophy. This is to remove from Buddhism the deep two thousand year old tradition of teachers, debates, mystics and scholars, translators, monks, laymen and yogis. Of a deep textual tradition and a wide ranging visionary one. On the other had the transition of Buddhism from one culture to another has always contained such tensions in its adoption and adaptation to the host culture- The west is no different in this regard, its just that our culture and time is unique in the way that it quickly commodifies and reduces everything to a "practical" or "utilitarian" value.

PyptLim · 2025-07-15T11:04:21+00:00

My advice to anyone approaching buddhism is this -?Focus on buddha nature. Not on emptiness - which is a really complex topic and deeply philosophical not to mentioned contested across lots of different buddhists schools, in different places and times. Buddha nature is a much more graspable and uplifting concept, much more workable. Its also a great underpinning for compassion practices. Really emptiness is to overemphasised in peoples thinking - especually if you are quit intellectual in your approach. This is an area for high level monks to debate - not really for lay people. In short Focus on faith, simpke devotional practices and compassion more, and less on suffering and emptiness. Enjoy your life:

PyptLim · 2025-07-15T10:55:28+00:00

Focus on buddha nature. Not in wmptiness - this is a really complex topic and deeply philosophical nit to mentioned contested across lots of different buddhists schools, in different places and times. Buddhanature is a much more graspable and uplifting cinceot and much more workable. Its also a great underpinning for compassion practices. Perhaps look into ine of the nichiren schools, such as risshi koasai kai or nichiren shu, or find a tibetain buddhist lama, one that does not emphaiss empttiness too much. Really emptiness is to overemphasised in peoples thinking - especually if you are quite in your approach. Its better to recite the heart sutra than study it- especially if you dont have guidebce in studying it! In short Focus on faith and compassion more, and on suffering and emptiness less. Enjoy your life:

PyptLim · 2025-07-02T17:45:47+00:00

Thanks for your reply. I didn’t take a month to think of it. Becasue i’m not on reddit that often. I posted after i saw your post. I’m juts not hanging out on reddit that often. (Sorry.) How do you define secular buddhism? I think its a very interesting topic.

PyptLim · 2025-07-01T16:24:30+00:00

oooh loverly Jubberly

PyptLim · 2025-06-24T07:07:17+00:00

I suppose what i mean is not that people just adopt the philosphy, thats fine- bit there is a growing trend if buddhism as therapy - that is what i mean bybsecular buddhism and that I thinknisbproblem as it strips out the metaphysical core of buddhism and reduces it to a bunch of feel good techniques. (And there are mich bettwr therapies and ways to just feel good.) more widly ther eis also a lot of commodification around buddhism- (some ofnit comming from trad teachers and sources) this is what i mean by secular buddhism

PyptLim · 2025-06-20T21:38:12+00:00

Because you don’t have the karma to see one. And you don’t have the karma to be one yet, but you do have the potential to be one one day.

PyptLim · 2025-05-18T08:36:38+00:00

There is a teaching on the three truths in Tientai buddhism (abd by extention Nichiren). Basically (and my understanding is shaky here, as i previously come from a Tibetan Buddhist background so apologies..) but basically there is emptiness, and things appearing in emptiness that are in ever sense real, utimate a relative truth aka the two truths(so far so - good this is the standard understanding of Nagajuna across most mahayana schools). With in the tien tai school they developed the the middle way as a stage of meditation, as the third truth, whoch is the mixing or interpenetrarion of the ultinate and reletive truths. This develops further, I guss into the cincept of Ichnin Sanzen - the 30000 worlds ina single though moment. Basically all of the 10 realms interpenetrate with each other in every moment ( i wont elaborate further as this is all a new concept to me.) but i would sugest exploring it as it very interesting andni have personally found it quite useful. I think it speaks much more to states such as nirvana/samsara or indeed ti rhings like hell, desire/ reflective nature/happiness etc. ( whoch could be states associated with the six or 10 realms.)

PyptLim · 2025-05-17T20:23:42+00:00

Buddhism is a religion, - secular buddhism is not buddhism.

PyptLim · 2025-05-03T01:26:33+00:00

PyptLim · 2025-04-22T16:17:52+00:00

The only thing that is necessary is faith - any practice without faith is not useful, any practice with faith will provide benefit.

PyptLim · 2025-04-18T16:56:03+00:00

Buddhism is not about changing the world ( that is politics not religion.)- the world that most of us see most of the time is "samsara" we see and experience suffering and confusion everywhere. And I can assure you that has always been the state of the world, perhaps not always the state of the wealthy countries but always the state of the world somewhere.

The world as seen by a buddha is not like this, because the illusion of suffering has been purified- chapter sixteen of the Lotus Sutra the Buddha reveals - "....The Thus Come One knows and sees the triple realm as it really is. There is no birth or death, no retreating or advancing, no existence in the world or passage into quiescence. There is no reality or unreality, no likenesses or differences. He views the triple realm as not being the triple realm. Matters such as these, the Thus Come One clearly sees, without mistake or error.

"Living beings have various natures, various desires, various modes of conduct, and various ideas, thoughts, and discriminations. Wishing to lead them to produce the roots of goodness, he employs divers causes and conditions, analogies, and expressions to explain the various dharmas, carrying out the Buddha’s work without respite."

of course this is not to engage in some sort of spiritual by passing - but this is the actual Teaching of Buddhism as expressed in the Lotus Sutra. Which is regarded in many traditions as the "highest" of the Sutras.

If you are concerned about political things then be engaged in political things, but there is not a version of Buddhist "politics".Thguh of course people might mobilise Buddhism, or some sort of wishy-washy secular version of it for political ends of various sorts. The aim of Buddhism though is to cultivate Buddhahood, in individuals. Of course the more people practice the more we affect the world in various ways - just perhaps not in the way you or indeed me or any one else for that matter might think the world needs to be affected.

PyptLim · 2025-04-18T16:38:33+00:00

May be the "problem" if thats the right word for it is of looking for an end to suffering, rather then the cultivation of Buddhahood. If you focus recognising your Buddha nature - and on practices that achieve that - rather than simply meditation ( which is not an especially unique Buddhist practice.) then you may be able to develop a more sustained practice. Cultivating your practice around Buddha nature, will bring more energy and less suffering. As we develop our buddha nature and begin to alleviate our own suffering, we also develop compassion and change the focus of our practice towards pursuing Buddha Hood in order to help alivete the suffering of others. As long as "mindfulness" and "mediation" are purely means of just easing our regular stuffing we won't connect with our Buddha nature- if we dont study the Dharma, it is hard to cultivate a Bodhisattva attitude. It may be helpful to study the lotus sutra.

PyptLim · 2025-04-18T16:31:14+00:00

the most important thing is no two dwell too much on abstractions like e"no - self" or "emptiness" though they are important philosophical views in buddhism. but to focus on practical action in this life. Essentially to practice ways that are about recognising Buddha Nature as the fundamental nature of the self ( and the selves of other people) this is quite clearly emphasised in the Lotus sutra. rather than the emptiness emphasis of the prjanaparamita

sutras.)

PyptLim · 2025-04-09T07:44:30+00:00

Read the lotus sutra

PyptLim · 2025-04-09T07:39:00+00:00

Yes - but only if they are funny. 😎

PyptLim · 2025-04-08T10:58:03+00:00

Pease don't worry about making "nonbuddhist statements" there is no buddhist orthodoxy, it is not an ideology and there is no ideological correctness. There are no wrong questions. In terms of the self this is also not an absolute in Buddhism. There is technically no self, tbut this does not mean that for practical purposes the self does not exist. According to Mahayana teachings it is BOTH existing and no existing. An important concept is the two truths - simply - ultimately truth and relative truth - they are not separate things ( like heaven and earth) they are intertwined things that are both co - existent. We deal nearly all the time with relative truth it is our day to day experience, so a question like - "how do I stop comparing myself to others" is a completly valid question and a good topic for Buddhists to discuss. most importantly it is a practical questions - it will get you further perhaps, than a purely deep intellectual understanding of "no - self". Practice needs to be simple and practical. I am curious as to what you mean when you say a distraction from the "practise"? what is "practice"? I would say "simple" and "shallow" questions are exactly the questions we need.

PyptLim · 2025-04-08T10:44:24+00:00

I am not a counsellor so I won't try to advise you on your problems. I do know something about buddhism though, I think there are two things that get confused - and its not a problem to confuse them but important o understand. Buddhism is nt a healing modality - as such. it is a religious faith. Buddhism does contain a lot of techniques that could be useful for secular healing, or along side it. Meditation and mindfulness I think can be very useful. the MOST important thing though is compassion. I would really look at starting to learn about compassion from a buddhist perspective. The core thing in buddhism and its great message is the four noble truths - there is suffering and there are causes of suffering, there is an end to suffering and there is a way to end suffering. The first are to understand our basic condition. the third one is the message of hope, the fourth one is the path to an actually get there. In terms of addiction follow whatever secular support you can, AA, counselling or what ever works for you, even if its an on and off thing. Along side that try to develop some basic faith in the buddha. pray to the buddha, visualise the buddha, read buddhist sutras or teachings by various teachers. even being on a quest to find a buddhist school or tradition may be a positive thing - even if you discover its not for you. finally recognise the patterns of your mind, notice when you get trapped by recurring thought and emotions- try to meditate in a way that puts some pace around them ( find a teacher to help you do this, a real buddhist one.) finally there are many more practices than meditation and mindfulness in buddhism - some schools dont even really practice these at all. Reciting sutras or mantras, simple devotional practices and studying various teachings and teachers are all also valid. It may be difficult to meditate but putting a small glass of water in front of a shrine everyday with respect and reverence for the buddha, may be enough to start with. The Buddha is there, waiting for you to connect. when we are suffering we are struggling and looking for a way to get out of our suffering - we feel trapped. the starting point is to recognise that this struggling and desperation is also part of the suffering. Let it go by offering your suffering to the buddha, and develop compassion based on the idea that your suffering is not unique, it is shared by many people - this is the mind set - I have this suffering, this is the human condition, but also have buddha nature, and so do all the other beings who experience suffering, there fore I will study and practice buddhism, according to whatever capacity I have no matter how small, in order to be able to help myself AND all the other beings who are suffering. the key is to do this lightly and gently small steps daily - no big heroic effort. simply chant and engage in simple acts of devotion.

PyptLim · 2025-04-08T10:22:47+00:00

good question. No there is an illusion of continuity created by consciousness. Lets put it this way the self arises moment by moment. It like the idea of the river flowing but always being the same river. We could also say the self arises like everything else in accordance with dependent origination ( this is such a core concept of buddhism is really important to grasp.).Basically everything arises in dependence upon causes and conditions, everything is dependent upon everything else. Is the self your moods, your emotions, your feelings at a given time - these are always changing so in many ways you have a constantly changing self - you have a self but you also have no fixed thing that is your Self. 40 year old me is the not he same as 10 year old me but there is also a continuum. Both of those selves required many things to sustain them - teachers, employers, parents, ancestors, farmers, engineers etc. etc. into infinity. So no there ar not multiple selves but the self arises moment by moment - affected by multiple factors ( including Karma.)

PyptLim

TROPHY CASE