I'm currently exploring paganism but I've been a Buddhist for many years, so I'd be happy to respond to any questions you might have, particularly on the practical side. Just be aware that Buddhism is pluralist and diverse, so giving a pan-Buddhist response to particular questions is often not straightforward. :0
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Re: Ask a Buddhist
Originally posted by Bartmanhomer View PostI got two questions actually, 1. How did you join Buddhism? What's Buddhism about anyway?).
As for what Buddhism is about, I think that essentially it's about liberation from suffering, though that's expressed differently across the various schools.
In recent years my practice has involved meditating regularly and trying to maintain mindfulness throughout the day, paying close attention to experience in order to understand it better. There is a strong focus on self-awareness too.Once a man, like the sea I raged;
Once a woman, like the earth I gave;
And there is in fact more earth than sea.
Genesis lyric
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Re: Ask a Buddhist
I'm aware that Buddhism, in itself, doesn't entail a belief in reincarnation, but would you say that the majority of Buddhists do or do not believe in it? How actively are The Eight Steps generally practiced? How do you generally interpret the idea that worldly desires, essentially speaking, cause suffering?
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Re: Ask a Buddhist
Originally posted by Herbert View PostI'm aware that Buddhism, in itself, doesn't entail a belief in reincarnation, but would you say that the majority of Buddhists do or do not believe in it? How actively are The Eight Steps generally practiced? How do you generally interpret the idea that worldly desires, essentially speaking, cause suffering?
I think most Buddhists practice actively but what they do depends on their culture and the school they belong to. There is a 3-fold version of the 8-fold path, morality, meditation and wisdom, that gives a good feel for it.
Technically it's craving which causes suffering. Craving is tanha, literally "thirst".Once a man, like the sea I raged;
Once a woman, like the earth I gave;
And there is in fact more earth than sea.
Genesis lyric
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Re: Ask a Buddhist
Ah, okay. I got the sense that rebirth was generally accepted, but I wasn't certain that it wasn't just a facet of those adjacent to Hindi majorities. Never heard of a three-fold path, but that does sound simpler. You learn a new proper translation every day. (I'm mostly just curious, but I try to incorporate disparate elements into my particular religion, hence why I prefer to know about them.)
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The Gaze of the Abyss
- Feb 2007
- 9295
- Alchemist and Neo-American Redneck Buddhist
- Frozen Northern Michigan, near Thunder Bay
- Where are the tweezers?
Re: Ask a Buddhist
Rebirth and reincarnation are not the same things.
"Rebirth" is the ability to change, and actually is required - #3 of the 4 Noble Truths, is, roughly, "suffering can end."
"Reincarnation" is the transmigration of souls. Worldwide, the majority of Buddhists do believe in reincarnation, but a person can be a Buddhist without believing in reincarnation.Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.
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Re: Ask a Buddhist
Originally posted by B. de Corbin View PostRebirth and reincarnation are not the same things.
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What do you think are the biggest differences between Buddhism and Paganism?
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Originally posted by B. de Corbin View Post"Rebirth" is the ability to change, and actually is required - #3 of the 4 Noble Truths, is, roughly, "suffering can end."Last edited by Spiny Norman; 28 Nov 2015, 11:01.Once a man, like the sea I raged;
Once a woman, like the earth I gave;
And there is in fact more earth than sea.
Genesis lyric
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Re: Ask a Buddhist
Originally posted by B. de Corbin View PostRebirth and reincarnation are not the same things.
"Rebirth" is the ability to change, and actually is required - #3 of the 4 Noble Truths, is, roughly, "suffering can end."
"Reincarnation" is the transmigration of souls. Worldwide, the majority of Buddhists do believe in reincarnation, but a person can be a Buddhist without believing in reincarnation.
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Re: Ask a Buddhist
Originally posted by Herbert View PostIn any case, I generally take a more literal form of the word rebirth than some; namely, being born again (literally, not metaphorically). Using rebirth to refer to something other than being conceived, and then exiting the womb, for the second plus time, is somewhat devaluing the idea of entering the world of the living.
“And what, bhikkhus, is aging-and-death? The aging of the various beings in the various orders of beings, their growing old, brokenness of teeth, greyness of hair, wrinkling of skin, decline of vitality, degeneration of the faculties: this is called aging. The passing away of the various beings from the various orders of beings, their perishing, breakup, disappearance, mortality, death, completion of time, the breakup of the aggregates, the laying down of the carcass: this is called death. Thus this aging and this death are together called aging-and-death.
“And what, bhikkhus, is birth? The birth of the various beings into the various orders of beings, their being born, descent into the womb, production, the manifestation of the aggregates, the obtaining of the sense bases. This is called birth."
https://suttacentral.net/en/sn12.2
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Just while I think to ask, do pagans tend to believe in reincarnation of some sort?Once a man, like the sea I raged;
Once a woman, like the earth I gave;
And there is in fact more earth than sea.
Genesis lyric
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The Gaze of the Abyss
- Feb 2007
- 9295
- Alchemist and Neo-American Redneck Buddhist
- Frozen Northern Michigan, near Thunder Bay
- Where are the tweezers?
Re: Ask a Buddhist
Originally posted by Herbert View PostWhile I was using somewhat imprecise language, under those definitions, reincarnation would be a form of rebirth. In any case, I generally take a more literal form of the word rebirth than some; namely, being born again (literally, not metaphorically). Using rebirth to refer to something other than being conceived, and then exiting the womb, for the second plus time, is somewhat devaluing the idea of entering the world of the living.
Those who believe in reincarnation take them to be the same thing, those who don't take them as separate things. Even Buddhist scholars have disputes about this...
Buddhism is older than Christianity, and has traveled the world in all directions, dieing out in some places only to be recreated long after, it has been reformulated over and over again, leaving a great many varieties smeared across this itsy-bitsy planet - it is more diverse even than is Christianity...
One thing that is generally true (though, Alas!, not always) is that different Buddhist groups respect other Buddhist groups, even when they disagree.Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.
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Re: Ask a Buddhist
Originally posted by B. de Corbin View PostOne thing that is generally true (though, Alas!, not always) is that different Buddhist groups respect other Buddhist groups, even when they disagree.Once a man, like the sea I raged;
Once a woman, like the earth I gave;
And there is in fact more earth than sea.
Genesis lyric
Comment
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The Gaze of the Abyss
- Feb 2007
- 9295
- Alchemist and Neo-American Redneck Buddhist
- Frozen Northern Michigan, near Thunder Bay
- Where are the tweezers?
Re: Ask a Buddhist
Originally posted by habbalah View PostDo you consider Buddhism to be a theist or atheistic path?
For me, non-theistic. For others, theistic.
In the writings, when Buddha was questioned about certain things, such as "the gods," he responded by saying that those questions are irrelevant to what he was teaching. For me, Buddha (assuming he existed as something other than a composite character) was a regular human who had something to teach that is accessible to other humans.
To me, it seems that if Buddha was something other than a regular human, or if he had some kind of divine backing, than what he had to teach is not accessible to everybody, only to the special ones.
It would defeat the whole concept of Buddhism (as I see it...).Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.
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