RE: A little Zen for courage

Vida!,

Thank you!

A very nice post, just what I needed to see.

I'm still a little sprout pushing the stones out of the way.......

RE: A little Zen for courage

Yes it is beautiful!

Me I am just dropping my hard shell:D

Thank you

RE: A little Zen for courage

Beautifull [sm=hug.gif]

RE: A little Zen for courage

Cheers!

I didn't know whether to post under Buddism or Other Religions as it is Zen (which I realise is Buddism but also -not!! haha!) but I went ahead and put a "Tao" thought in the other just in case!! 😉

xxVida!

RE: A little Zen for courage

I am interested in all religions ~ Can someone explain what Buddhism is .... Please 😀
I know i can look via a search engine myself but thought i would try and expand this board a bit lol. 😉

RE: A little Zen for courage

Oh girl! A can of worms there!!

You have theravandens (spelling sorry!) the mayayenists (again can't spell)
you have traditional buddhism, zen (which is buddhism meets Taoism - meaning that you let go and things just are to over simplify) - others will disagree as it is a vast topic! and many more versions. Some chant, others don't as Buddha said not to, some believe in a sanga (fellowship) some are on a lone path etc.

A great book if you care to read it is: The Worlds Religions by Huston Smith - fantastic! Non biased overview of many great religions as well as some tribal beliefs - I just loved it and he goes in to Buddhism in a loving and humourous way.

xxVida!

RE: A little Zen for courage

Namaste.
If I may interject here.....
Id love to share this with anyone whos interested,
Hawkwind you ask..

I am interested in all religions ~ Can someone explain what Buddhism is .... Please

1. WHAT IS BUDDHISM? Buddhism is a method of achieving "Nirvana," or liberation from suffering. The method of realising this was discovered by a man called the Buddha (a title which means "The Awakened One" or one who has been awakened to the true nature of existence). The method of liberation he discovered is called the Eightfold Path (a very specific set of practical guidelines for daily living).

The overall tone of the Buddhist lifestyle is living with compassion and kindness, doing no harm at all, and being helpful towards all peoples regardless of their racial, religious or political differences. The most important objectives a Buddhist has in life are to become liberated from suffering by realising the state of enlightenment, and also to help other beings become enlightened.

2. THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA. The Buddha was a spiritual teacher (guru) who lived in Northern India in the 6th century BC. The Buddha was a human being, not a deity. He was born Siddhartha Gautama, son of a regional Chieftain in what is now Nepal. The Buddha grew up with the luxuries of court life, but at the age of 29 he voluntarily renounced his wealth and all worldly possessions in order to embark on a life totally dedicated to attaining spiritual insight.

He is referred to as `The Buddha' because the word ‘Buddha' is a title, not a name. The title means "The Awakened One." This refers to one whose mind has penetrated the illusions of our sense perceptions to directly and profoundly realise the true nature of existence.

3. THE TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA. What the Buddha discovered was a system of practices which can help achieve a spiritual transformation in which one is no longer vulnerable to suffering. The Buddha’s system consists of a method of daily living (see Eightfold Path below).

The Buddha’s method does not rely on or incorporate the concept of a personal God or individual Creator. While the Buddha himself did not endorse or encourage the concept of an ultimate Creator-God, neither did he categorically deny the possibility of such a God – he simply said that the issue was not relevant to achieving the particular type of spiritual transformation he was interested in, and he relegated such inquiries to "useless speculation" category.

This apparent theological neutrality has resulted in Buddhism being absorbed into the existing cultures and belief systems of many countries. For example, there are some Christian priests who live according to the Buddha’s teachings, and who follow the Buddha’s Eightfold Path at the same time as acting on their Christian convictions.

THE BASIC PRINCIPLES ("THE FOUR TRUTHS") IN A NUTSHELL. All Buddhist teaching is ultimately contained within the Four Truths. The first Truth describes the true nature of life to be "dukkha," meaning that which is characterised by suffering and general unsatisfactoriness. The second Truth states that the cause of such dukkha to be "tanha," or craving. The third Truth states that the cessation of dukkha is possible, by eliminating tanha -- ie, if you eliminate the cause, the effect ceases. The fourth Truth describes the path (or method) that leads to the the elimination of tanha, which in turn causes the cessation of dukkha. This cessation of dukkha, which is liberation from suffering, is what many people mean when they use the word "enlightenment." Here are some further remarks on the Four Truths.

1) The Nature Of Dukkha: our lives are impermanent, ever changing, and involve various forms of suffering. Examples of suffering are physical and emotional pain, loss, remorse, illness, old age and dying. Unsatisfactoriness includes such things as not getting what we want, and instead getting precisely what we don’t want, or losing something we had strived hard to get, or losing to someone else who got an unfair adva

RE: A little Zen for courage

Thanks Melody, that is most interesting, i am going to do further research myself on Buddhism, ~ sorry i didn't reply to you earlier ~ i was on my Reiki Attunment at the weekend.

RE: A little Zen for courage

Dear Melodypye

Great to have a Buddhist on the board and thank you for sharing.
Have you seen the Jesus Sutra's by Martin Palmer?

Its about how the Church of the East blended Eastern and Western spiritual principles, and how Jesus was depicted as a Buddha-type Christ. They even called him the 'Enlightened One'. Its more Taoist Christianity though then Buddhist.

On another thread we have been talking about how the esoteric sides of some religions have been suppressed is there anything that you would like to share on this? Buddha was also called the 'Medicine Buddha wasn't he?"

I was fortunate to track down (took two years) a copy of the Dharani Sutra which I understand was originally part of the Lotus Sutra. I call it Quan Yin's sutra.

Love beyond measure

Kim xx

RE: A little Zen for courage

🙂'A little Zen for courage'. Thanks for sharing this - its just what I need right now

RE: A little Zen for courage

🙂That was really really interesting

RE: A little Zen for courage

Hello Vida!

I agree that the words you wrote were very nice but I feel I need to make sure you know more about OSHO®, FORMERLY KNOWN AS BHAGWAN SHREE RAJNEESH.

These links will give you an overview of Osho.

[DLMURL] http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/rajneesh.html?FACTNet [/DLMURL]

"Osho" Rajneesh's "Sannyasins"This controversial and iconoclastic guru (1931-1990) has considerable influence in the "New Age" circles of some countries (Brazil for instance), where his books are sold in mainstream bookstores with nearly as much acceptance as those of the Dalai Lama. His teachings emphasize the search for personal freedom (definitely including sexual activity), often to the point of damaging ethical discernment and leading to enthusiastic yet destructive behaviour. His books are often very caustic in their criticism of many institutions and traditional teachings. His followers caused the Wasco County, Oregon scandal (involving political fraud and salmonella poisoning). Much of the information about him is of dubious quality, such as his death supposedly being caused by poisoning with radioactive Thallium.

While it may have been a cult once, nowadays, few people are active in a hierarchically organized group based on the organizational lineage of Rajneesh. Some people may be involved in several unhealthy cult-like groups based on the teachings of Rajneesh.

To sum up ... please be careful what you read. Believe in yourself and don't just believe what other people say is true - however colourful the wrapper is.

Gina

RE: A little Zen for courage

This is such a wonderful thread I thought it would be good to bring to the fore.

Ah dear Osho a beloved friend and holder of great wisdom, he studied with Zen Masters and learnt much from the teachings of Jesus and Buddha. As they say upstairs the message is more important then the messenger and there is little that anyone can find out of place in the teachings of Osho due to their true origins. Osho added humour and life experience to his work which made it even more uplifting for those that received it I hear. A hard task master ! If you desired to make the breakthroughs he insisted that one be prepared to break out of all comfort zones which few are prepared to do.

Here is a wonderful quote from a Zen Abbot to add to this great thread. The only thing I would add to it, is the importance of integration. For without integration of the practise, the practise goes on forever, but yet once truth and knowledge is integrated through experience your state of being is certainly changed.

Master Hayashi 1941 Abbot from Zen Monastery was asked

“How does one set about becoming a master?” he responded “Just by letting the master who is in, come out”. It takes a long time to arrive at such simplicity, the way taught by the masters of the East. It is the way of practice. In practice understood man learns to conquer himself. (self mastery)

At first, of course, intense alertness, a firm untiring will and great perseverance are needed to repeat the same thing again and again, until finally the skill is perfected.

Practice in the real sense begins only when technique as such as been mastered, for only then can the aspirant perceive to what extent self pride and the desire to shine, as well as fear of failure, obstruct his path. The intellect is no longer needed, the will is silent, the heart is quiet, and happily and surely a man accomplishes his work without effort.

Then he no longer shoots the target (complete surrender) but ‘it shoots for him”.

Love beyond measure

kimxx

RE: A little Zen for courage

I forgot to mention he learnt from the teachings of Krishna as well, from memory (but don't quote me) Osho studied philosophy academically so crossed many frontiers and accessed the core essence of spiritual truth.

All credit to him in having the ability to translate, understand and communicate spiritual truth in a way that people could easily understand and grasp the inner meanings when and if they had the will to do so.

Love beyond measure

Kim xx

RE: A little Zen for courage

ORIGINAL: Sacredstar

I forgot to mention he learnt from the teachings of Krishna as well, from memory (but don't quote me) Osho studied philosophy academically so crossed many frontiers and accessed the core essence of spiritual truth.

All credit to him in having the ability to translate, understand and communicate spiritual truth in a way that people could easily understand and grasp the inner meanings when and if they had the will to do so.

Love beyond measure

Kim xx

With respect, my personal POV is that anyone that is addicted to strong drugs is deluded. Osho's teachings up to the point of his misuse of drugs and altered mind-state may have had some credibility - maybe. This guy raped, ordered mass poisonings and many other undesireables, yet his followers still promote his teachings. This is not intended to cause offence to the reader, it's just my thoughts. 🙂

Rajneesh used prescription drugs, mainly Valium (diazepam), as an analgesic for his aches and pains and to counter the symptoms of dysautonomia (dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system). He took the maximum recommended dose of 60 milligrams per day. Rajneesh also inhaled nitrous oxide (N2O) mixed with pure oxygen (see Osho in the Dental Chair), which he claimed increased his creativity (see dangers of N2O). The nitrous oxide probably did relieve the sensation of severe exhaustion and suffocation patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome often feel, but it did nothing for the quality of his judgment. Naive about the powerful effects of drugs and overconfident about his own ability to fight off their negative effects, Rajneesh succumbed to addiction.

RE: A little Zen for courage

well as I have said before many times I feel the message is more important then the messenger and the message as certainly stood the test of time.

May Osho rest in peace but somehow I think he is a very busy man over the side.

GOD bless him for GOD loves everyone

For GOD is the most merciful and the most compassionate.

being love

Kim xx

RE: A little Zen for courage

Hello Giana,

I have an indirect link to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho.) My former husband was a sannyasin of his when in Poona. Mike told me that the stories of rapes, drug addictions and so on were media hype to discredit this man, and that he, nor anyone else connected to the ashram in Poona ever witnessed this going on, and no complaints were ever recorded.

He was a master of tantric sex, but that didn't make him a sex monster.

Love,
Patsy.
xxxxxxxx