Why Are There So Many Black Buddhists?

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lostitude
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Re: Why Are There So Many Black Buddhists?

Post by lostitude »

mettafuture wrote: Tue Nov 13, 2018 4:43 pm
lostitude wrote: Tue Nov 13, 2018 3:47 pmUltimately it depended on me to pay attention (...)
Not paying attention to your surroundings can be dangerous.
Obviously that was not what I meant.
(...) fail to understand why their behavior is actually pretty natural and even expected
We don't have to tolerate bad behavior.
Maybe, but what is even more important at present for you is not to suffer because of bad behavior. And that is something immediate and personal that buddhism invites us to work on within ourselves, isn't it? Complaining about other people is not going to help me achieve much on a personal level, I think. So that should be secondary.

Ultimately the suffering and discomfort comes from within
Not if someone punches you in the face.
Actually...yes, according to the little I have read. Pain may come from outside, but the suffering and discomfort triggered by pain are created within you, by how you live this experience. Am I wrong in believing that this idea is the very essence of buddhism? I'm kind of new so I stand to be corrected.
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mettafuture
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Re: Why Are There So Many Black Buddhists?

Post by mettafuture »

From Vin.IV,20:

“Go forth for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the welfare, the good and the happiness of gods and men. Let no two of you go in the same direction. Teach the Dhamma which is beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle and beautiful at the end. Proclaim both the letter and the spirit of the holy life completely fulfilled and perfectly pure."
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retrofuturist
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Re: Why Are There So Many Black Buddhists?

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings mettafuture,

I'm not sure exactly what point you're trying to make with that Vinaya quote. Can you please clarify?

Metta,
Paul. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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mettafuture
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Re: Why Are There So Many Black Buddhists?

Post by mettafuture »

retrofuturist wrote: Wed Nov 14, 2018 7:14 pmI'm not sure exactly what point you're trying to make with that Vinaya quote. Can you please clarify?
I found it to be a nice teaching appropriate for this discussion. The meaning is quite clear.

:namaste:
lostitude
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Re: Why Are There So Many Black Buddhists?

Post by lostitude »

mettafuture wrote: Thu Nov 15, 2018 7:31 pm
retrofuturist wrote: Wed Nov 14, 2018 7:14 pmI'm not sure exactly what point you're trying to make with that Vinaya quote. Can you please clarify?
I found it to be a nice teaching appropriate for this discussion. The meaning is quite clear.

:namaste:
But surely this implies something to you in the specifict context of this discussion, otherwise you would not have posted it right here. I think that is what retrofuturist was asking (and I wondered the same thing). I don't really see what the conclusion is?
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mettafuture
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Re: Why Are There So Many Black Buddhists?

Post by mettafuture »

The conclusion is peace.
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