Is there anything that is not Buddhism?

It seems like, fundamentally, we're all very similar, there's a constant process of division, good over bad, we want good so we must each understand the system as best we can. You have all those "superficial" differences but they just hide that general process of learning, past experiences with current perceptions battling it out. Just generally speaking, I know one of the main reasons people who believe in the transmigration of the soul that I've spoken to, have done so because of the difficulty to learn for so many who are in such difficult circumstance with such little time. Whether it is that they also believe in God and assume he would give us ample time to understand or that they simply have to believe that those stricken with such harsh circumstance are not simply "making up the numbers". Purpose and meaning I suppose.

I suspect the Buddha's answer would have been....

"Yes, Buddhism"

I don't answer Buddhist threads often because explanations would take more time than I have. But all people possess the Buddha nature, just as we possess every other condition of life. It does not need to take lifetimes to acheive. It can be done through efforts in this lifetime.

Yes, nickfun. From the time a person discovers the benefit of striving for fullfilment and until that state is reached can take a relatively short time. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. The road up to the individual becoming aware of the possibility of seeking enlightenment is just as vital to the process as the final stages. A businessman, striving for the profits of his trade, is doing just as important work towards his own fullfilment as the monk who meditates and chants most of the day. If the road to nirvana was a staircase we could say that the businessman was only further down the steps. But the monk couldn't have gotten to where he is without walking the path the businessman is now on...

Let's take two hypothetical cases; a 45 year old layman and a 18 year old Buddhist Monk. Which has the greater probability of suddenly experiencing the transcendental? The answer is there is no way of knowing.

The layman may have intuitively been practicing Buddhist teachings, even as he piles up a fortune. When conditions become ripe, he stands up and is transformed. Somewhat improbable, but well within the possible. Some professions are regarded as problematical by Buddhists; butchers, soldiers, policemen, bill collectors, etc. Yet these are necessary occupations, and can be performed by those approaching their work with Buddhist understanding and dedication to mitigation of suffering. So even a soldier who has killed men in battle, may have an Enlightenment experience that a devote Buddhist priest never experiences. Achievement of Awakening is a personal thing, and its difficult perhaps even impossible for us to predict who might be on the verge of becoming. Honor the next beggar you meet on the road as a Bodhisattva.

The teenage Monk may assiduously practice, perform rituals and sit in meditation for absurdly long periods, and yet never Awaken.

One begins the journey striving for enlightenment for themselves. They may be looking for supernatural powers, or just going along with a tradition. Their understanding of Buddhism is flawed, and sometimes the flaw is never overcome so all the meditation and practice never results in Awakening because it remains so fervently pursued. The illusions of multiplicity, duality and self are never washed away for some, and so their goal is never quite reached.

That isn't necessarily a "bad" thing. Even flawed practice has its way of mitigating suffering; its just not quite so effective as practice not driven by self, or mistaken understanding.

Have compassion for the suffering that suffuse all those you are likely to meet. Treat everyone equally with respect and charity. Some will respond and will be influenced to mitigate suffering, while other aren't yet ready to open themselves to the teachings. When asked about Buddhism, do your best to describe and explain the Teachings, but never push them on others. Blessed are we born sentient and privileged to hear the Buddha's Teachings.

I don't know terribly much about Buddhism, but the more I learn the more I relate. Part of me has always entertained "joining" buddhism, but the idea of joining seems to be to western, and perhaps the idea is that I'm not ready for it.

does that sound stupid?

Nope, that doesn't sound stupid.

Reading about Buddhism isn't difficult, and there are a lot of source materials available. In my opinion, Zen Buddhism is best adapted for Western use, but others might disagree. You might want to read some of Allen Watts, Paul Reps, or Nancy Wilson for some overview. D.T. Suzuki is a little more substantive. The Dharmapada, a Theravada text, is available in numerous editions and translations. The most essential of all Buddhist texts is the Deer Park Sermon (the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-Fold Path), and it will be included in translation in most decent Buddhist books you are likely to encounter.

Even more important than reading about Buddhism is to begin practicing it. Learn basic meditation techniques, and make them a part of your life. Learn to focus your attention and control your thoughts, words and actions. Be aware of suffering in yourself and those around you. Try to understand the sources of suffering, and then minimize as much as you are able to the suffering you witness. Learn patience and practice charity. Live every moment to its fullest, and let go of the past. Be aware of what the present will cause in the future, and then act in those ways that mitigate foreseeable future suffering. Learn to balance one suffering against others, and choose the lesser. Let go of your attachments to "self" and "things" that ultimately have little worth or permanence.

Associate with other folks who are working toward Buddhist goals, they will support you and in sharing your path will be smoothed. It is a hard path sometimes, but worthy of heroes.

I have found that Nichiren Buddhism has brought me tremendous joy. I have been practicing for 25 years. You can find out much more at http://sgi-usa.org/

Is reading about buddhism the same as precticing buddhism?

Does one even need to know that buddhism exists to practice it?
I'm thinking no...

Reading is not practicing. It isn't necessary to know the term "Buddhism" to practice its precepts, nor enjoy the benefits of that practice. With that out of the way, reading Buddhist texts and doctrinal studies can open doors to the way we think of the world. Practicing the precepts without the Teachings tends to be a hit or miss affair. The more you can learn from the sutras and the great Masters of the past, the easier the path and the more difficult to take a "wrong" turn up a blind ally.

Unlike some religions, "Buddhism" is accessible to sentient beings regardless of their location in time/space. It is as accessible to the illiterate of sub-average mental capacity as it is to the most brilliant University Professor. The "truths" of the teaching are before us all, if only we take the time to see.

Makes sense to me.

My experience is that there is nothing that compares to actual practice. The joy and wisdom one can gain is beyond explanation.

Nickfun, while our particular practices are different, at least on the surface, I appreciate your statement*. I can imagine how your awareness--after many years--of the vibrant living boundless ("empty") moment of the chanting experience would provide the same kind of joy and freedom experienced in the mindfulness method of Theravadin and Soto zen (shikantaza) meditation. I'm glad that you have persisted in your practice.



*"My experience is that there is nothing that compares to actual practice. The joy and wisdom one can gain is beyond explanation."

But in some way, for most of us born in the west anyway, the actual practice of buddhism specifically is but a chapter in the book of our life. Something probably inspired the desicion to begin this practice, and I think that everything that happened up to that moment had to happen for the moment to come at all.

I'd almost just want to say that we're all playing the same game but discussing it in different contexts, with the study and technical understanding of Buddhist texts being one context. For lack of a better word, experience, needs to be placed in an appropriate box, or at least I think that's what we like to do. One person feels anger and considers the technicalities of it, de-constructing it down, taking a very scientific and formulaic approach to "discover" a problem or possible solution. Another feels anger and oh I don't know, "see's" the division between themselves and the anger for what it is and rests with it, looking for no path that led to it or no future problems that may come from it. Each to their own.

Yes, each to their own.
Kind of like in music. There are only eleven notes, but there is an infinite number of ways to express them, or use them to express something else.

Yeah just like language. I guess we are our thoughts too and our thoughts are our unique usage of language.

Yes, but thought is also much more. Language is bound by dualism, thought is not. That is why I think it is restrictive to "think in words", as many claim to do.

Very interesting, I'll have to...think...about that a bit more :wink:. Is this similar in any way to the experience of a scene (thought without words) in comparison with the subsequent thought with words that often follows..."wow what an interesting/beautiful/powerful scene" etc?