christopher::: wrote:
I'm glad someone out there understands what i'm trying to say. Thanks chicka-Dee. I'm not trying to knock the dharma or knock Buddhism in any way. Just feel other people's personal spiritual beliefs should be given respect, and are indeed something beautiful, especially if its supporting their life, providing some assistance to them when times are hard, when problems arise...
Helping them to cultivate metta, live with joy and peacefulness. I dunno. I've been hanging with family and friends a lot lately, none of them Buddhists, but most so openhearted, joyful, trying their best. It's a wonder to see. And without the dharma!
It might sound like heresy... NonBuddhists cultivating metta, mudita... Is that possible?
Well, i think so...
I sure do think so, too. I think we find elements of the Dharma everywhere.. in other religions, philosophies, life-outlooks, everyday wisdom, nature, human interactions and behaviour.. it's all around us. It has universal qualities that penetrate all around us. Last night I watched a video about Zen, and one of the Japanese monks they interviewed said he welcomes people from all sorts of backgrounds to his monastery to practice.. including Christianity, Islam, Jewish, Atheist.. he doesn't discriminate, he welcomes them all. He sees that Buddhist practice and philosophy can benefit people from all walks of life. The word Dharma/Dhamma is often translated to 'Truth', so it makes sense to me that if this is truly so, we would see this Truth all around us, in everything, regardless of labels or categorization or putting things in boxes of all sorts (as we humans tend to like to do).
christopher::: wrote:I'm also at a kind of crossroads now, in terms of my practice. I need to decide to either go deeper or pull back, or both. To be honest I havent felt very comfortable at times, communicating with Buddhists online like this, these past few years. I'm realizing that I cant dedicate myself 100%, as others have. Am I a Unitarian, a Jew, an Advaitan, Zen Buddhist, a bit of each, none of the above?
I dunno. In the car yesterday the term "half Buddhist" popped into my head. Like my sons who are half American, half Japanese, thats how I feel. I may need to go elsewhere... return maybe to communicating more with nonBuddhists, as I've been doing these last weeks back home in NY.
Still, when I stopped by Barnes and Noble yesterday the New Age shelves made me laugh, I found no Advaitan books of interest, didnt even go past the Unitarian area, and instead ended up purchasing 7 books on Buddhism... The dharma is where the wisdom lies, for me. I dont see any answers for myself in any other religion...
And yet when it comes to people, not religion, I am drawn to all who are searching for answers with an open mind and open heart...
I have been struggling with similar questions. So far my approach has been to sample from a variety of teachings according to an inner guide or intuition that leads me along, and so far this has worked pretty well for me. There just doesn't seem to be one 'school' or approach that specifically appeals to me, fully. I'd like to join a sangha and commit myself more fully, but I hesitate to do this, and I'm not really sure why. I just have this part of me that tells me I know what I need, and I do what feels right, internally. But I've also had teachers tell me it's better to focus on one 'way' of practice and go deeply.. I had one teacher tell me it's like drilling for oil.. if you make small holes all over the field, you won't go deep enough to hit oil.. you need to stick with the same hole and keep going deeper... And yet knowing this, I just don't know which hole to 'pick'. Perhaps, utlimately, it doesn't matter as much which hole we pick, as long as we stick with it and keep drilling... I really don't know. In the end, it is a personal decision. Perhaps the hole picks us, more than we pick the hole....