The Gaian Buddhist Monastery

do you practice any other religion whilst practicing as a buddhist?

yes	16.8%	[ 22 ]
no	31.3%	[ 41 ]
no i actually dont practice buddhism	36.6%	[ 48 ]
Jus Count'n Da G's Dawg, Fo Sho!!!!!	15.3%	[ 20 ]
Total Votes:			[ 131 ]

[lakshanas]

TangRen

啊弥陀佛！

Hello everyone what a nice little thread, is everyone Buddhist in here?

I would like to be part of this group, do I PM?

Some information about me:

I live in Canada, my family follows Chinese Buddhism, most likely if you are a Chinese Buddhist you also follow many other traditional Chinese gods (some consider Taoist gods but they
are not). My family worships a bodhisattva called Guan Yin Pusa (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva). We only worship Buddha at the temples. The closest temple is about 800km from where I live, only been there 2 times.
The only text I have is Ksitigarbha Sutra (Dizang Pusa Benyuanjing), and a bunch of other ones my mom reads.

WOW!!! welcome!

this is really exciting, so you where born into a buddhist family then? thats cool the only buddhists i know where converted. i cant wait to hear your input in our discussions. if you have any questions dont mind asking any one here they are more than happy to help you out with anything.

[melonsoda]

hi everyone, wow, it's so nice to have a thread dedicated to Buddhism, and it seems like a very warm and welcoming place heart

I've been considering myself as a Buddhist for quite a long time, but it seems the more I learn about Buddhism (I took a lot of different Buddhist courses in university), the more lost I seem to be. I would definitely catagorize myself in the Mahayana tradition, but the more Mahayana schools I learn about, I seem to feel like there isn't a particular school/sect that I belong to... it seems like I agree to a lot of the schools...

Ok, i think I sound really confusing now, but the thing is, when I took the Chinese Buddhism course in university, I learned about various schools such as Hua Yen, Tian Tai, Chan, etc.. and every single school's ideology that makes them unique, I seem to agree with... is that wrong in any way?

How about you guys? do you have a particular Buddhist school you follow?

[Kigeko]

lakshanas

these precepts are for the "gaian faith" the 'perfect lotus'

Ligier the Green Sun

The Ten Precepts:

1. I vow to donate gold to those who are questing whenever able
   
2. I vow to refrain from keeping more than 50K for myself
   
3. I vow to refrain from flaming others, even if they deserve it
   
4. I vow to refrain from bumping threads without contributing to the topic
   
5. I vow to refrain from stealing from or cheating others
   
6. I vow to refrain from over-charging in the Marketplace
   
7. I vow to refrain from trolling the forums or otherwise violating the R&G or ToS
   
8. I vow to refrain from using my words to turn users against each other
   
9. I vow to praise the good works of the admins/devs/artists
   
10. I vow to have fun

my alterations to the precepts:

1. do not kill the animals bugs and fish of gaia.
2. do not flame, harass, or otherwise make the stay of another fellow gaian unpleasant in any intentional way.
3. do not steal, hack, or trick another gaian out of gold or items.
4. do not partake in sexual misconduct including cybering.
5. do not speak false truths
6. do not partake in any mind altering substance use. ( i have no idea how this applies to us, but im sure if we discuss it we can figure it out)

the additional three

1. do not indulge in the use of gold, do not accumulate any more amounts of gold than 50k.
2. do not indulge in the adornment of one's avitar.
3. do not indulge in custimized posts and profiles.
4. donate to those who are in need of gold/items when ever possible.

most of the precepts i have written are my own adaptations of the origional precepts. plus a few that are alittle more aplicable to the gaian monk's life.

so yeah tell me what you think.

I think these are all very interesting. Is it perhaps possible for us all to discuss these? ( I fear I may already be breaking rules! crying )

Also, welcome to the new members! XD heart

[lakshanas]

Kigeko

lakshanas

these precepts are for the "gaian faith" the 'perfect lotus'

Ligier the Green Sun

The Ten Precepts:

1. I vow to donate gold to those who are questing whenever able
   
2. I vow to refrain from keeping more than 50K for myself
   
3. I vow to refrain from flaming others, even if they deserve it
   
4. I vow to refrain from bumping threads without contributing to the topic
   
5. I vow to refrain from stealing from or cheating others
   
6. I vow to refrain from over-charging in the Marketplace
   
7. I vow to refrain from trolling the forums or otherwise violating the R&G or ToS
   
8. I vow to refrain from using my words to turn users against each other
   
9. I vow to praise the good works of the admins/devs/artists
   
10. I vow to have fun

my alterations to the precepts:

1. do not kill the animals bugs and fish of gaia.
2. do not flame, harass, or otherwise make the stay of another fellow gaian unpleasant in any intentional way.
3. do not steal, hack, or trick another gaian out of gold or items.
4. do not partake in sexual misconduct including cybering.
5. do not speak false truths
6. do not partake in any mind altering substance use. ( i have no idea how this applies to us, but im sure if we discuss it we can figure it out)

the additional three

1. do not indulge in the use of gold, do not accumulate any more amounts of gold than 50k.
2. do not indulge in the adornment of one's avitar.
3. do not indulge in custimized posts and profiles.
4. donate to those who are in need of gold/items when ever possible.

most of the precepts i have written are my own adaptations of the origional precepts. plus a few that are alittle more aplicable to the gaian monk's life.

so yeah tell me what you think.

I think these are all very interesting. Is it perhaps possible for us all to discuss these? ( I fear I may already be breaking rules! crying )

Also, welcome to the new members! XD heart

oh of course that is why i set them up, i wouldnt dare establish rules before confering with the rest of the monastary.

[lakshanas]

melonsoda

hi everyone, wow, it's so nice to have a thread dedicated to Buddhism, and it seems like a very warm and welcoming place heart

I've been considering myself as a Buddhist for quite a long time, but it seems the more I learn about Buddhism (I took a lot of different Buddhist courses in university), the more lost I seem to be. I would definitely catagorize myself in the Mahayana tradition, but the more Mahayana schools I learn about, I seem to feel like there isn't a particular school/sect that I belong to... it seems like I agree to a lot of the schools...

Ok, i think I sound really confusing now, but the thing is, when I took the Chinese Buddhism course in university, I learned about various schools such as Hua Yen, Tian Tai, Chan, etc.. and every single school's ideology that makes them unique, I seem to agree with... is that wrong in any way?

How about you guys? do you have a particular Buddhist school you follow?

nothing is wrongi feel the same way, i find it just easiest to choose a single form and go with it. you have to realize even when it comes to the difference between therevada and mahayana is not that vast. and you dont exactly have to be one single form either.

just contine how you feel comphortable and practice what you feel best practicing.

and welcometo the Monastart my name is jeff! ^_^ i hope you enjoy yourself

[Kigeko]

lakshanas

Kigeko

lakshanas

these precepts are for the "gaian faith" the 'perfect lotus'

Ligier the Green Sun

The Ten Precepts:

1. I vow to donate gold to those who are questing whenever able
   
2. I vow to refrain from keeping more than 50K for myself
   
3. I vow to refrain from flaming others, even if they deserve it
   
4. I vow to refrain from bumping threads without contributing to the topic
   
5. I vow to refrain from stealing from or cheating others
   
6. I vow to refrain from over-charging in the Marketplace
   
7. I vow to refrain from trolling the forums or otherwise violating the R&G or ToS
   
8. I vow to refrain from using my words to turn users against each other
   
9. I vow to praise the good works of the admins/devs/artists
   
10. I vow to have fun

my alterations to the precepts:

1. do not kill the animals bugs and fish of gaia.
2. do not flame, harass, or otherwise make the stay of another fellow gaian unpleasant in any intentional way.
3. do not steal, hack, or trick another gaian out of gold or items.
4. do not partake in sexual misconduct including cybering.
5. do not speak false truths
6. do not partake in any mind altering substance use. ( i have no idea how this applies to us, but im sure if we discuss it we can figure it out)

the additional three

1. do not indulge in the use of gold, do not accumulate any more amounts of gold than 50k.
2. do not indulge in the adornment of one's avitar.
3. do not indulge in custimized posts and profiles.
4. donate to those who are in need of gold/items when ever possible.

most of the precepts i have written are my own adaptations of the origional precepts. plus a few that are alittle more aplicable to the gaian monk's life.

so yeah tell me what you think.

I think these are all very interesting. Is it perhaps possible for us all to discuss these? ( I fear I may already be breaking rules! crying )

Also, welcome to the new members! XD heart

oh of course that is why i set them up, i wouldnt dare establish rules before confering with the rest of the monastary.

Oh ok! smile heart I'm glad, because there were a few things I wasn't certain on. I'll bring the questions up later though. It's nothing dire, and I don't want to scare off new members. sweatdrop

[melonsoda]

lakshanas

nothing is wrongi feel the same way, i find it just easiest to choose a single form and go with it. you have to realize even when it comes to the difference between therevada and mahayana is not that vast. and you dont exactly have to be one single form either.

just contine how you feel comphortable and practice what you feel best practicing.

and welcometo the Monastart my name is jeff! ^_^ i hope you enjoy yourself

hey Jeff ^_^
I'm just taking the ideology of the ones I agree with and just practicing with that, but at the same time, where I live, I don't think there is any specific Buddhist monastery that really teaches Buddhism. Most of the monasteries here are just 'commercialized'. So in a way, other than my university, I can't really find a place to learn more about it...
where do you guys learn about Buddhism? Just self study?

[lakshanas]

melonsoda

lakshanas

nothing is wrongi feel the same way, i find it just easiest to choose a single form and go with it. you have to realize even when it comes to the difference between therevada and mahayana is not that vast. and you dont exactly have to be one single form either.

just contine how you feel comphortable and practice what you feel best practicing.

and welcometo the Monastart my name is jeff! ^_^ i hope you enjoy yourself

hey Jeff ^_^
I'm just taking the ideology of the ones I agree with and just practicing with that, but at the same time, where I live, I don't think there is any specific Buddhist monastery that really teaches Buddhism. Most of the monasteries here are just 'commercialized'. So in a way, other than my university, I can't really find a place to learn more about it...
where do you guys learn about Buddhism? Just self study?

well i have continuealy "self cultivated" my understanding to this point, with both contemplation, and research. and alot of reading books, contributing and reading forums, such as the guilds here on gaia dealing with buddhism, and i have even taken a class on art in religion, where we touched base on indus valley art and theology. I do however have a temple localy and my class actually had a feild trip out to the temple so i learned there too. but i havent gotten much more than what i have reasearched myself, and learned from my class. it really is more of a self involved faith in my opinion anyway. its really the practice of being mindful.

[melonsoda]

lakshanas

well i have continuealy "self cultivated" my understanding to this point, with both contemplation, and research. and alot of reading books, contributing and reading forums, such as the guilds here on gaia dealing with buddhism, and i have even taken a class on art in religion, where we touched base on indus valley art and theology. I do however have a temple localy and my class actually had a feild trip out to the temple so i learned there too. but i havent gotten much more than what i have reasearched myself, and learned from my class. it really is more of a self involved faith in my opinion anyway. its really the practice of being mindful.

some of the ideology of Buddhism, is understandable, but I find, practicing it is very hard... i mean, it's easy for one to understand the concept of 'no self', but at the same time, is it really easy for one to let go of all of one's own cravings and desires?

As of now, i have only been learning buddhism from courses, but university courses do not teach meditation (i asked the prof about whether or not i could do meditation on my own, but he recommended that i should find a meditation teacher first bec. i might meditate at the wrong track) @_@;;

Do you guys practice meditation? If so, any tips?

[dragontamer363]

melonsoda

lakshanas

well i have continuealy "self cultivated" my understanding to this point, with both contemplation, and research. and alot of reading books, contributing and reading forums, such as the guilds here on gaia dealing with buddhism, and i have even taken a class on art in religion, where we touched base on indus valley art and theology. I do however have a temple localy and my class actually had a feild trip out to the temple so i learned there too. but i havent gotten much more than what i have reasearched myself, and learned from my class. it really is more of a self involved faith in my opinion anyway. its really the practice of being mindful.

some of the ideology of Buddhism, is understandable, but I find, practicing it is very hard... i mean, it's easy for one to understand the concept of 'no self', but at the same time, is it really easy for one to let go of all of one's own cravings and desires?

As of now, i have only been learning buddhism from courses, but university courses do not teach meditation (i asked the prof about whether or not i could do meditation on my own, but he recommended that i should find a meditation teacher first bec. i might meditate at the wrong track) @_@;;

Do you guys practice meditation? If so, any tips?

Well i'm still pretty new and still finding my way (like reading books. I've read a Kandampa sect book i didn't relaly agree with, and a vietnamese mayahana one I didn't really entirely agree with. I'm loving the dalai lama's wirting..but hey.
-ahem- what was I saying?
oh yes: I woud say with meditation acts liek mindfulness and 'breathing' meditation can't be mucked up. one s simply paying dep attention to eveerything you do and teh other is simply settling your mind - trying to observe but not interact with your thoughts while concentrating on your breathing wuth teh goal for a peaceful mind. (while i need a heck of a lot of practice on these) It's relatively simple to practice and I dont' think it'll lead you wrong. Once you've found this comes naturaly (the mindfulness and peaceful mind) then i'd say have a meditation techer to take you on the next step.



-----------------------

Quote:

The Ten Precepts:

I vow to donate gold to those who are questing whenever able

I vow to refrain from keeping more than 50K for myself

I vow to refrain from flaming others, even if they deserve it

I vow to refrain from bumping threads without contributing to the topic

I vow to refrain from stealing from or cheating others

I vow to refrain from over-charging in the Marketplace

I vow to refrain from trolling the forums or otherwise violating the R&G or ToS

I vow to refrain from using my words to turn users against each other

I vow to praise the good works of the admins/devs/artists

I vow to have fun





my alterations to the precepts:

1. do not kill the animals bugs and fish of gaia.
2. do not flame, harass, or otherwise make the stay of another fellow gaian unpleasant in any intentional way.
3. do not steal, hack, or trick another gaian out of gold or items.
4. do not partake in sexual misconduct including cybering.
5. do not speak false truths
6. do not partake in any mind altering substance use. ( i have no idea how this applies to us, but im sure if we discuss it we can figure it out)

the additional three

1. do not indulge in the use of gold, do not accumulate any more amounts of gold than 50k.
2. do not indulge in the adornment of one's avitar.
3. do not indulge in custimized posts and profiles.
4. donate to those who are in need of gold/items when ever possible.

most of the precepts i have written are my own adaptations of the origional precepts. plus a few that are alittle more aplicable to the gaian monk's life.

so yeah tell me what you think.

1. do not kill the animals bugs and fish of gaia.
This follows the vegetarianism of many buddhist sects - but not all are vegetarian. Also things liek gills, sharp teeth, ink etc - are these acceptable becaus ethey have to be killed to make them. Could an alternative be to only purchase these items from the market - as you woul dbe purchasing what is already dead?
2. do not flame, harass, or otherwise make the stay of another fellow gaian unpleasant in any intentional way.
sounds good to me smile
3. do not steal, hack, or trick another gaian out of gold or items.
sounds good to me smile
4. do not partake in sexual misconduct including cybering.
sounds good to me smile
5. do not speak false truths
sounds good to me smile
6. do not partake in any mind altering substance use. ( i have no idea how this applies to us, but im sure if we discuss it we can figure it out)
Hmn... Perhpas instead we shoudl view all fads or arguments objectively, to avoid being taken in by the 'intoxicent' of fad, cons etc? to be mindful in hwo to play teh game. after all teh reason why it's forbidden to take mind altering drugs etc is so that one always keep a clear and mindful mind.

the additional three

1. do not indulge in the use of gold, do not accumulate any more amounts of gold than 50k.
Good- but what if you've just bought something or are saving up for something? i think it's acceptable to want a expensive item if you dave for it and don't just flippantly 'collect' them in the means of making more money. Eg I buy a couple fo monthly items because I've been wanting a sword for a long time. but i don't buy ALL teh monthly items so I have tonnes of money to keep my money and bump up the prices. to wnat it for a godo reasona nd be humble with it.
2. do not indulge in the adornment of one's avitar.
I think this is teh same sort fo argument as above. Also some people want to say, have a theme pirate/georgian theme and the items they need for it are naturally expensive. perhaps not having items 'for teh sake of it' to show off how much money you could have?
3. do not indulge in custimized posts and profiles.
Maybe not having sigs which are VAST and not having oevrly fuzzy posts. but a profile - surely there's no way fo having a greedy profile. you look at outr own gardens on thsi forum and even buddhist temples - all are beautiful and perhaps 'indulgent'. However since profiels ahve no monetary value I see no problem with having a big profile. uniek posts it doesn't distract form its purpose.
4. donate to those who are in need of gold/items when ever possible.
I agree ^_^

[dragontamer363]

[Please pardon my double post - just thought it'd be useful to have a 'general' post for everyone to contribute to. is there anyway of putting this more up front so people can find it?]




A lot of people here are still discovering about Buddhism, and one of the main ways of doing this is through books and writings either in the real world or the internet. Here, i thought that it would be useful if you have read or found anything of interest on Buddhism to post it here (mail me with it) and/or give a brief summary and rating of it, so that others can look it up (r if teh review is especialy bad) avoid it. after all, The Buddha encouraged people to use their minds and own experience and not to belive everything he said 'simply because he said it'....

-Form-

Quote:

Name of book/site:
Blurb:
Rating:
Why you chose the book/website:
What you thought of it:

Buddhist Scripture

The Pali Cannon
'The Tipitaka (Pali ti, "three," + pitaka, "baskets" wink , or Pali canon, is the collection of primary Pali language texts which form the doctrinal foundation of Theravada Buddhism. The Tipitaka and the paracanonical Pali texts (commentaries, chronicles, etc.) together constitute the complete body of classical Theravada texts.

The Pali canon is a vast body of literature: in English translation the texts add up to thousands of printed pages. Most (but not all) of the Canon has already been published in English over the years. Although only a small fraction of these texts are available on this website, this collection can be a good place to start.'

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/index.html

---
the Lotus sutra

http://buddhistfaith.tripod.com/purelandscriptures/id12.html

---
Buddhist Books

Name of book/site: The art of happiness, by the Dalai lama & howard c cutler
Blurb: The dalai lama (religious leader of Tibet and famous Buddhist) and psychologist Howard c cutler explore the human condition, and how to travel on the path to happiness, mainly through exploring the compassion and interconnectivity of human beings. For both buddhists and non-buddhists.
Rating: 10/10
Why you chose the book/website: I got it as a birthday presnt, but I do love the dalai lama's works.
What you thought of it: I love this book! smile I reccomend it to anyone starting out in buddhism especially (and in addition westerners), because it blends Western 'normal' thinking with teh Dalai lama's philosophy. He taks honestly, clearlya nd with great humility about how his rleigin has helpe dhis life, and offers an extremely helpful and optamistic guide to how anyone can make their lives happier and more fulfilling, primarily trhough compasion and understanding the underlying good of human nature. Cutler, as a psychologism, continually relates to his own experience and provides scientific evidence for the dalai lama's points, talking fo how the talks with him changed him along the way. It's divided into eaisly mangable chunks and, for me, is something you could read over and over again. It's devoid of a lot of the mysticism of Mahayana and zen philosophies and retains a down to earth and practical tone - being extremley clear, which i find very good and helpful (often growing more confused and frustrated at the latter sort of book.) A must read smile


--

Buddhist Websites

[lakshanas]

1. do not kill the animals bugs and fish of gaia.
This follows the vegetarianism of many buddhist sects - but not all are vegetarian. Also things liek gills, sharp teeth, ink etc - are these acceptable becaus ethey have to be killed to make them. Could an alternative be to only purchase these items from the market - as you woul dbe purchasing what is already dead?i think this precept needs to be very liberal, not everyone should have to follow it if they dont want to. because so many of the games in gaia involve "animals" and none of these animals are truely alive... they are codes written up in programs. but i think it still represents life, just as gaia represents the world, so i think we should be mindful of life while in relationship with them so those that want to dedicate themselves to the fullest should perhapse pay close attention to the concept of respect to these "creatures"
2. do not flame, harass, or otherwise make the stay of another fellow gaian unpleasant in any intentional way.
sounds good to me smile i thin perhapse this should be #1, and the current #1 be placed in the additional monastic precepts.
3. do not steal, hack, or trick another gaian out of gold or items.
sounds good to me smile
4. do not partake in sexual misconduct including cybering.
sounds good to me smile
5. do not speak false truths
sounds good to me smile
6. do not partake in any mind altering substance use. ( i have no idea how this applies to us, but im sure if we discuss it we can figure it out)
Hmn... Perhpas instead we shoudl view all fads or arguments objectively, to avoid being taken in by the 'intoxicent' of fad, cons etc? to be mindful in hwo to play teh game. after all teh reason why it's forbidden to take mind altering drugs etc is so that one always keep a clear and mindful mind.i really like your input in this. very very interesting.

the additional three

1. do not indulge in the use of gold, do not accumulate any more amounts of gold than 50k.
Good- but what if you've just bought something or are saving up for something? i think it's acceptable to want a expensive item if you dave for it and don't just flippantly 'collect' them in the means of making more money. Eg I buy a couple fo monthly items because I've been wanting a sword for a long time. but i don't buy ALL teh monthly items so I have tonnes of money to keep my money and bump up the prices. to wnat it for a godo reasona nd be humble with it. I think this precept should be replaced entirely with the last precept of generosity, and humility.
2. do not indulge in the OVER adornment of one's avitar.
I think this is teh same sort fo argument as above. Also some people want to say, have a theme pirate/georgian theme and the items they need for it are naturally expensive. perhaps not having items 'for teh sake of it' to show off how much money you could have?
3. do not indulge in custimized posts and profiles.
Maybe not having sigs which are VAST and not having oevrly fuzzy posts. but a profile - surely there's no way fo having a greedy profile. you look at outr own gardens on thsi forum and even buddhist temples - all are beautiful and perhaps 'indulgent'. However since profiels ahve no monetary value I see no problem with having a big profile. uniek posts it doesn't distract form its purpose. maybe we should just replace this with a simple, "be mindful of your place" i think this would work fine because the precept that inspired this, the 8th precept, basicly is just a precept to keep a monk mindful of thier pride and arrogance.
4. donate to those who are in need of gold/items when ever possible.
I agree ^_^ as afore mentioned this might just replace the "gold indulgance precept i laid out"

[Weiwei Haoma]

Thanks for the welcome.

[lakshanas]

TangRen

Thanks for the welcome.

no problem ^_^

[Xiao Huang]

http://www.foyue.com.cn/

Enjoy people -_-