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 Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 10:25 pm
I have claimed myself as a buddhist for two years now. I tried searching online, and read books, but can't seem to grasp where to start. I feel like I can't claim myself to be a buddhist when I really do nothing to practice it. I was under the impression that with buddhism, there are no gods. So why am I finding rituals and worship rites online? I am horribly confused. I need someone to help me. I need to know how a buddhist practices their religion every day. Do they have rituals? I know of a local temple, but unfortunately its in the main city where rarely my parents take me. I need to know the basics of what they believe, in a real practitioners words because the things I am finding online are not helping. Please help me so I can truly start the life I want to lead as a buddhist!
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 3:28 am
Thank you for posting this thread.
I'm sort of where you are, I just didn't know how to ask for help.
I've been trying to practice five to ten minute meditations each day. Just regular breathing meditations, nothing complicated. But any more than that, I do not know what you tell you. But you are not alone!
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 3:34 am
Buddhanet.net and E-sangha will help you out a lot. Also, the stickies in this guild are full of info and links that have helped me and many others.
The Buddha said there were gods however, they are in samsara just like us.
Some sects of Buddhism go about practicing differently then others. Buddhanet.net and the stickies explain the differences better then I could.
But the basics of Buddhism start with the Four Noble Truths, The Eight Fold Path, and the Three Jewels.
I hope I have been of some help
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 3:41 am
Forgot to mention http://www.accesstoinsight.org This is about Theravada if I not mistaken. wikipedia has some pretty good info about Buddhism and all the different sects. xd
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Lord Alucard Ere Casanova
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 4:36 am
I'll give some information, but it's not all the information. What I provide here is merely in regards to the situation made visible to me.
• Who Was the Buddha?
Siddhartha Gotama was born into a royal family in Lumbini, now located in Nepal, in 563 BC. At 29, he realised that wealth and luxury did not guarantee happiness, so he explored the different teachings religions and philosophies of the day, to find the key to human happiness. After six years of study and meditation he finally found 'the middle path' and was enlightened. After enlightenment, the Buddha spent the rest of his life teaching the principles of Buddhism — called the Dhamma, or Truth — until his death at the age of 80.
• Was the Buddha a God?
He was not, nor did he claim to be. He was a man who taught a path to enlightenment from his own experience.
• Do Buddhists Worship Idols?
Buddhists sometimes pay respect to images of the Buddha, not in worship, nor to ask for favors. A statue of the Buddha with hands rested gently in its lap and a compassionate smile reminds us to strive to develop peace and love within ourselves. Bowing to the statue is an expression of gratitude for the teaching.
• What did the Buddha Teach?
The Buddha taught many things, but the basic concepts in Buddhism can be summed up by the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.
• What is the First Noble Truth?
The first truth is that life is suffering i.e., life includes pain, getting old, disease, and ultimately death. We also endure psychological suffering like loneliness frustration, fear, embarrassment, disappointment and anger. This is an irrefutable fact that cannot be denied. It is realistic rather than pessimistic because pessimism is expecting things to be bad. lnstead, Buddhism explains how suffering can be avoided and how we can be truly happy.
• What is the Second Noble Truth?
The second truth is that suffering is caused by craving and aversion. We will suffer if we expect other people to conform to our expectation, if we want others to like us, if we do not get something we want,etc. In other words, getting what you want does not guarantee happiness. Rather than constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting. Wanting deprives us of contentment and happiness. A lifetime of wanting and craving and especially the craving to continue to exist, creates a powerful energy which causes the individual to be born. So craving leads to physical suffering because it causes us to be reborn.
• What is the Third Noble Truth?
The third truth is that suffering can be overcome and happiness can be attained; that true happiness and contentment are possible. lf we give up useless craving and learn to live each day at a time (not dwelling in the past or the imagined future) then we can become happy and free. We then have more time and energy to help others. This is Nirvana.
• What is the Fourth Noble Truth?
The fourth truth is that the Noble 8-fold Path is the path which leads to the end of suffering.
• What is the Noble 8-Fold Path?
In summary, the Noble 8-fold Path is being moral (through what we say, do and our livelihood), focusing the mind on being fully aware of our thoughts and actions, and developing wisdom by understanding the Four Noble Truths and by developing compassion for others.
And my source: http://www.e-sangha.com/2,2,0,0,1,0.html
That sight explains more, I suggest you look into it yourselves. I hope this helps.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 7:25 am
There's also Good Questions, Good Answers from Buddhanet; it's a wonderful all-purpose FAQ.
The 'rituals to gods' bit will depend on which sect you are, and if someone has made a mistranslation of Bodhisattva in the Mahayana branch of things - that one happens quite a bit, that I've seen - and taken a ritual for thanking a Bodhisattva or asking for their aid with something and turned it into some sort of deity worship. 3nodding
Buddhism also does not make a claim one way or the other on the subject of an overdeity (like what God in the Judeo-Christian sense would be - omnipotent, omnipresent and all that stuff), but does bring in stories involving at minimum Hindu deity. These deities are never put up for worship when they do show up, though - in fact, more often than not, they're showing up to ask the Buddha questions about the universe or something similar, hence one of his titles: Teacher of Gods and Men. 3nodding
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