Search found 738 matches
- Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:00 pm
- Forum: General Theravāda Meditation
- Topic: My meditation experience that brought me closer to Buddhism
- Replies: 3
- Views: 437
My meditation experience that brought me closer to Buddhism
About a year ago I was practicing meditation, but I had such a horrible job situation and under so much stress that it was hard to meditate. The job was making me physically sick from stress...it was that bad! I eventually quit that job and took up meditation. The thing was, once I quit that job and...
- Fri Apr 01, 2011 9:26 pm
- Forum: Ordination and Monastic Life
- Topic: Why not ordain?
- Replies: 130
- Views: 18223
Re: Why not ordain?
My goal is to establish a strong practice as a lay person first. My feeling is that if you can't establish a good practice as a lay person then you're probably not going to last long as a monk. That's why I'm trying to avoid getting married and having kids, because in 5 years if I want to take that ...
- Fri Apr 01, 2011 7:00 pm
- Forum: Connections to Other Paths
- Topic: My friend says Buddhism is selfish... how to reply?
- Replies: 40
- Views: 8377
Re: My friend says Buddhism is selfish... how to reply?
Imagine a world where we all dedicated our lives to the Buddha's teachings. We'd all work together to support ourselves enough to practice the Dhamma and do our best not to create harm in the world. Does that sound like a bad world to live in? Does that sound like a bunch of selfish people? On the s...
- Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:20 pm
- Forum: General Theravāda discussion
- Topic: Access to Insight Bulk Download
- Replies: 22
- Views: 3143
Re: Access to Insight Bulk Download
I love Access To Insight! I'm thinking of writing and Android app for reading ATI. I have the iPhone one and love it.
- Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:03 pm
- Forum: Connections to Other Paths
- Topic: Obsessed with Dhamma
- Replies: 58
- Views: 3812
Re: Obsessed with Dhamma
Yes, I just want to have a healthy relationship with the Dhamma. I know that Buddhism can be used for escapism...people want to hide from real life and lose themselves in the practice. I want to make sure my intentions are in the right place and that I'm doing the practice for the right reasons. I d...
- Fri Apr 01, 2011 5:28 am
- Forum: General Theravāda discussion
- Topic: the great rebirth debate
- Replies: 6091
- Views: 455415
Re: Who has verified rebirth personally?
I have been curious as to if anyone here has attained the 4th jhana state and been able to verify their past lives? The concept of rebirth is one I have yet to accept, if ever, but otherwise I have accepted most of the rest of the dhamma because I have personally found it to be true. I think your a...
- Fri Apr 01, 2011 5:11 am
- Forum: Connections to Other Paths
- Topic: Obsessed with Dhamma
- Replies: 58
- Views: 3812
Re: Obsessed with Dhamma
Greetings Digity, You seem to be approaching a tipping point in regards to your life choices, and if being a bhikkhu (or even samanera) doesn't work out you can go back to the lay life, but if you take the family and home option, you'll pretty much close yourself off to the opportunity to be a bhik...
- Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:59 am
- Forum: Connections to Other Paths
- Topic: Obsessed with Dhamma
- Replies: 58
- Views: 3812
Re: Obsessed with Dhamma
How old are you, and how long have you been studying? You "deeply wish to be reborn". Really? If you are as serious as you say, your goal should be higher. I'm 30. I've been studying Buddhism on and off since University, but it's only been recently where I feel like I've gained more clarity in the ...
- Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:31 pm
- Forum: Connections to Other Paths
- Topic: Obsessed with Dhamma
- Replies: 58
- Views: 3812
Re: Obsessed with Dhamma
Have you considered ordaining, then....? It sounds as if the life of a Bikkhu may be the path for you.... what do you think? Yes, I have thought about it. I've thought about it multiple times since I first discovered Buddhism back in university. It's a tough decision...I'm not sure how my family wo...
- Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:56 pm
- Forum: Connections to Other Paths
- Topic: Obsessed with Dhamma
- Replies: 58
- Views: 3812
Re: Obsessed with Dhamma
I'm not merely just studying dharma. I'm practicing too! I do meditation on a daily basis. I've been getting more involved with volunteer work. I've learned to be more generous with my money. I could go on. I'm just saying, I'm not merely obsessively reading over the suttas and not actually practici...
- Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:28 pm
- Forum: Discovering Theravāda
- Topic: Is Buddhism Anti-Life?
- Replies: 18
- Views: 4001
Re: Is Buddhism Anti-Life?
The problems with life are observable by you. Even if Buddhism didn't exists there would still be death, disease and all the other kinds of suffering in this world. That's just a fact. Suffering is a fact. The Buddha didn't create suffering. It's just there. Buddhism isn't anti-life...it's just sayi...
- Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:23 pm
- Forum: Connections to Other Paths
- Topic: Obsessed with Dhamma
- Replies: 58
- Views: 3812
Re: Obsessed with Dhamma
Consider the strings of the lute..... http://www.noble-buddhism-beliefs.com/the-fourth-noble-truth.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; True, but when the Buddha achieved enlightenment he promised not to get up from his meditation. He said sooner would the skin on his body rot off be...
- Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:20 pm
- Forum: Connections to Other Paths
- Topic: Obsessed with Dhamma
- Replies: 58
- Views: 3812
Obsessed with Dhamma
I find myself obsessed with Dhamma. I just want to study it all day long. I do take care of my other duties. I'm a good worker and manage my day to day stuff fine, but the biggest focus in my life is the Buddha's teachings. All I care about is sustaining myself (i.e. food and shelter) and the rest o...
- Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:31 pm
- Forum: Discovering Theravāda
- Topic: a couple questions
- Replies: 10
- Views: 1489
Re: a couple questions
hi i am just exploring the buddhist faith, i don't really know much about it but i do have a couple questions about differing oppinions. i am wondering about arrogance according to the buddhist faith, and since i am not really experienced in the teachings, i feel i do not use much tact when i am di...
- Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:30 am
- Forum: General Theravāda discussion
- Topic: Immense time spent in Hell
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1150
Re: Immense time spent in Hell
By literal, I meant are they x years in human life or is it all relative? Like, I imagine beings in heavenly realms live within a different time frame than humans. Maybe it's the same deal with hell beings. Anyway, I'm just asking out of curiousity.
- Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:16 am
- Forum: General Theravāda discussion
- Topic: Immense time spent in Hell
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1150
Re: Immense time spent in Hell
Okay, thatnks for the response. However, I'm sure that the Buddha stated himself that the time spent in hell is very long. I believe he used the analogy of a cart filled with seeds and if you removed one every century by the time you empty it, that's the time spent in hell. I'm pretty sure I didn't ...
- Wed Mar 30, 2011 4:27 am
- Forum: General Theravāda discussion
- Topic: Immense time spent in Hell
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1150
Immense time spent in Hell
One thing I can't quite wrap my head around is the immense number of years that one spends in Hell. Assuming that the following Wikipedia information on Buddhist Hell is accurate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naraka_%28Buddhism%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; For instance, a life t...
- Wed Mar 30, 2011 2:21 am
- Forum: General Theravāda discussion
- Topic: Most people reborn as humans?
- Replies: 26
- Views: 4025
Re: Most people reborn as humans?
It wasn't a contradiction when i said that some people are born sociopaths, without a conscious.There is a lot of evidence showing that sociopaths have brain physiology that differs from most other people. Most are born without the ability to empathize or sympathize with others, which is why some t...