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| Is Buddha viewed by some Americans as a legend, or a fairytale? |
| Yes |
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[ 14 ] |
| No |
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[ 0 ] |
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| Total Votes : 14 |
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 Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005 3:49 pm
Sadly, it's true. But, Americans are like that. We hardly know anything outside of or borders. Or we don't care to know.
We think that America is the world and nothing else is around us.
Oh well it is just ignorance.
-Random person who I saw posting: How can you call yourself a buddhist if you belief that buddha was over weight? He was an average to thin sized... not anywhere near fat!
What you are thinking of is caused by the chinese.
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005 3:57 pm
snow_lotus Nah... the fat man actually stemmed from a popular Chinese belief of a certain plump monk who appeared in ancient China. Legend has it that he was the embodiment of Maitreya and though he seemed to be insane, his selection of words when he happen to speak show a very nimble and lucid mind that has broken through the suffering of the world behind the facade of madness. He wore nothing but a torn robe all year round and was just as comfortable in the comforts of spring as in the bitter cold of winter. One day, he left the monastry he was staying, leaving a poem implying he was Maitreya incarnate. Hence the later versions of Maitreya in the Chinese culture being a plump individual bearing great treasure (he was said to have carried a huge bag and it was said that he picked up everything on the ground and finds everything he needs in his bag) not unlike St. Nick wink
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005 3:59 pm
Trumina At my school my friends (and alot of people who aren't my friends) know I'm Buddhist and they're totally cool about it. Granted I do have a few "friends" who don't seem to like the fact I'm not Christian. I even had one little elementary school girl tell me I was going to hell, she had never met someone who wasn't Christian. One of my other friends told me that she went to church one day and these girls were making fun of Buddhism, saying things like "How could they worship some big fat guy?" and a few other things.
You really don't! gonk
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 7:44 pm
I have been fortunate to get very positive responses from my friends about Buddhism. In fact, I got a few friends into reading about and researching the religion. Though I had one or two bad experiences with some Christians who were quite ignorant, I feel people like that are best to be ignored. They will remain ignorant, and we can only hope for them to one day become more open minded. But all in all, I have had some good experiences with curious people asking about my religious beliefs.
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Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 9:29 pm
Its not the Christians that i usually have a problem with. I wear a string of mantra beads around my wrist all the time, and this one kid said, "Hey, I like your Dragonball Beads." When I stood up and threatened him, (even though i wouldnt have the heart to hurt anyone) he said, "What r u going to do? Zap me with your dragon powers?".
i have even had some of the most kind people in the world say things that they know are offending. Things like, "How could a man who weighs 450 lbs. teach people about self-discipline?" What i hate the most is when people say things like, "So you worship that fat guy? Does he worship you or are you just wasting ur time?"
There are several reasons why i left Christianity....
1. I dint have a problem with god, just his fan-club
2. they have a torture and device of imprisonment as their holy symbol, and creationism (i dont mean offense to anyone), is a load of crap!
3. When i was 8, my grandmother tried to convince me that dinosaurs never existed, and God was a cruel being. that sorta scarred me for life.
4. In christianity, i couldnt believe in the scientific sort of things
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Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 5:46 pm
Your sig's wrong, Demon. biggrin Look at Tibet's history - there was an intersectarian Buddhist only war that wiped out one sect almost entirely. Also, why threaten someone for saying your beads are from Dragonball? Isn't that a perfect opportunity to explain what the beads really mean?
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Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 11:22 pm
Hmm .. look, it's my first real post in this forum! ^^
At work, my friends know I'm Buddhist .. and they're very open and don't think bad of it at all, so I guess I'm lucky in that respect.
I was raised Wiccan from a very very young age, so I've always thought of divinity as a changable and multifaceted concept. In a way I'm still Wiccan, for I honor and love the Mother and Father - only in their more Buddhist forms.
Ah .. ;.; I had some very nice prayer beads once. They got lost when I went on a trip to California. Speaking of which, I also met some Theravada monks on the way! They came up to me and my brother, asking if we could help them use their shiny new digital camera. (I wonder if somehow they could tell we were Buddhist? No one would ever think though .. we're both the epitome of Irishness xD) Anyway, we helped them out, and everyone got pictures with everyone xD It was fun! (This was at the Grand Canyon)
But anyhow. Er .. ^^; Demon? I don't think you needed to get *angry* really .. he was just ignorant. Like Byaggha suggested, just use that opportunity to inform him! ^^
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:46 pm
Dude, did you see that new White Castle Cermerical! I scearmed when I saw it!
All my firend know I'm Buddha and thnk I'm cool o_O
But if I told my mum she would think I'm worshipping the devil!
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Akanishi Makoto Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:02 pm
zaMmaP Dude, did you see that new White Castle Cermerical! I scearmed when I saw it!
All my firend know I'm Buddha and thnk I'm cool o_O
But if I told my mum she would think I'm worshipping the devil! Wait, you're Buddha? eek Well, I guess everybody is, really. If you tell your mother, I'd be interested to hear her take on it. I won't pressure you to do it, however, that's entirely your decision. I am very much interested in hearing what Christian views on Buddhism are... Jack Chick aside. stare
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Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 2:07 pm
Well, everyone has the potential to be a Buddha...
"every sentient being has the buddha-hood within them" (i just wrote an essay about that for my Buddhism course...)
It just depends on whether or not you've reached that enlightenment to become a Buddha ^_^;;;
anyways, regarding the first post... it's true, a lot of people do disrespect Buddhism too, which is a real shame. They think that, just because you're a Buddhist, that you worship and burn incent 24/7... but that is so not the case.
A lot of other religions also look down on Buddhism, which really sucks because that's so disrespectful, but I guess we can't really change everyone's view...
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Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 7:41 pm
I am not sure if he was fat or not. He might have been a bit...umm...plump when he started out on his journey, being as he was a very well taken care of prince.
But towards the middle of his journey he thought that deneying himself food might help on his quest. So this lead him to nearly starve to death.
I think the image of the fat Buddha just looks apealing to Americans in Chinesse resturants.
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 11:59 am
I think most religions (other than Christianity) are largely misunderstood by Americans, just because people don't know enough(or anything) about them. The general reaction (at least where I've been) to, for example, those who are Wiccan or Pagan is usually "OMG ur evil ur goin to Hell you worsip the devil" and so on and so forth. If people just took the time to actually learn even a little about it, they'd see it wasn't anything like what they beleive. And like others have said, the usual reaction to Buddhism is "Oh, you mean you worship that fat guy?" I got a semi-similar reaction when I happened to take a book about eastern philosohpy to school one day. At least three people who saw it asked me "Why the heck are you reading this?" or some such thing.
It just makes me sad that people an be so ignorant, and not even care.
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2005 8:35 am
I think that those who aren't Buddhist or don't know much about it take it as a joke. They say it isn't a religion and nothing can amount to it. My friend just today made fun of it. He said "How can you believe in something when a guy just said, 'Hey follow me' one day?" I tried to explain it to him but he just wouldn't listen. I wanted to tell him about suffering and how to end it, I wanted to tell him about Buddha's life, and how Buddhism began. I wanted to sit him down for one hour and explain it to him, but he wouldn't listen. He mocked me when I told him that Buddha started off as a prince. I believe he said, "Yeah, he was a prince who said Hinduism was wrong..." I wanted to slap him over the face, but I went with the Nobel Silence so I could continue with Right Speech. In the end, yes, those who don't know make fun, those who do know, realize its importance.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2005 9:28 pm
Akira-sun I think that those who aren't Buddhist or don't know much about it take it as a joke. They say it isn't a religion and nothing can amount to it. My friend just today made fun of it. He said "How can you believe in something when a guy just said, 'Hey follow me' one day?" I tried to explain it to him but he just wouldn't listen. I wanted to tell him about suffering and how to end it, I wanted to tell him about Buddha's life, and how Buddhism began. I wanted to sit him down for one hour and explain it to him, but he wouldn't listen. He mocked me when I told him that Buddha started off as a prince. I believe he said, "Yeah, he was a prince who said Hinduism was wrong..." I wanted to slap him over the face, but I went with the Nobel Silence so I could continue with Right Speech. In the end, yes, those who don't know make fun, those who do know, realize its importance. ( even if they don't ) , they would usually ignore what others say ... ( even if others know a lot more than them ... ) ... well, it is something that affects all of us at one point in time or another ... sweatdrop
Anyway, your friend is quite a good example of ignorance manifesting itself ... ha ... mrgreen
Well, another common example would be Christian fanatics ( I have no problems with Christians ... just the fanatics) who believed that they knew everything about life after just reading from a single book ... (Ok, the Bible just feels a bit strange as it sometimes contridicts itself ...) which is a bit silly when whole shelves of books at libraries may not give you know that knowledge ...
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Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 7:09 am
Yes, I agree with most everyone else. 3nodding Sometimes people's ignorance really makes me sad. Sometimes people ask me if I believe in a God(goddess, plural forms, etc.) and when I reply "No." they're like "So, you're Atheist?" gonk The only other Buddhist I know personally is Asian and was born into a Buddhist family, so yeah... sweatdrop
Geesh...people need to learn about other faiths besides their own. Honestly, I have studied a bit of other religions, especially Judaism and Wicca, as they're interesting. Not something I believe, but interesting nonetheless. 3nodding
So, yeah, most people I know(especially my age) can be quite ignorant, but then again...it might be because of their upbringing and parents. "No! If you know anything about Wicca, you'll go to HELLZ! OMGWTFLOLBBQZZ!!11" Anywho, I think you know what I mean. rolleyes
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