Buddhism

You don't have to call Christianity simple-minded just because you disagree with it. It's pretty simple-minded to say that.

 

If it is simple, then why was it such a struggle for you?

Since when is it simple to be faithful, earnest, selfless and ever-loving?

 

Your experience with Christianity, doesn't equal Christianity as a whole.

 

If you find Buddhism amazing, you will be blown away by Zen Buddhism. I like you was once lost amongst the amagalm of religions believing in a psuedo-god, but when I found Zen Buddhism, my life and my purpose in life became crystal clear.

 

Those parts are easy. The hypocracy and judgementalism is the hard part.

 

Perhaps you had a bad experience because this doesn’t describe Christianity in general. In fact, many of the people who tend to talk about a “literal interpretation of the bible” are typically the people who are not interpreting the bible literally, strange as that may seem. The “fundamentalists” all to often do not to adhere to the fundamentals. If you give me an example of the kind of thing you’re talking about I can probably show you why it isn’t really in accordance with Christianity. No guarantees, but generally the things that people respond negatively to are the things that are presented as Christian but that are not actually in accordance with the Bible.

 

It is unChristian to be judgemental. That is strictly forbidden in the Bible. Unfortunatly many people do it, but they are wrong to do so and what they are doing is in direct violation of what the Bible teaches.

 

Maybe I misunderstood what you were saying. If you are saying that it’s hard for us Christians not to be hypocritical and judgemental then I would certainly agree with that.

 

What grizzled said plus.. what you indicate is a problem with Christians not Christianity.

 

so true...and so frustrating!

 

Christianity is about justification by faith, not works. Doing A, B, and C, and checking things off the grocery list will do nothing to get you into Heaven from a Christian standpoint. That’s Old Testament teaching, not Christianity. Christian faith is something fundamentally different. It is about in internal personal relationship with God. To link this to Buddhism, on one level there many similarities with Buddhism, but IMO there are fundamental differences too. Christ, for example, lived a life that was very Buddhist like in many ways, but he didn’t exactly teach us to seek oneness with the universe. He showed us how to seek every closer relationship with God. As God created the universe and the world and all the wonders in it there is an element of appreciating God’s majesty in all that is around us, a very strong element in fact, but the source in Christianity is God, not the universe itself. So Christianity takes the journey one step farther, into a relationship with the creator. It’s pretty awe inducing stuff to say the least.

 

Yeah, Buddhist philosophy is incredible. The ideas of emptiness, impermanence, rebirth, oneness, mind and ego were all missing from my own Christian and cultural upbringing. And I am very thankful that I found them. I have experienced what you are experiencing. Your perceptions have changed. The word 'Buddha' is a title and not a name. It means 'one who is awake' in the sense of having 'woken up to reality'.

Buddhist practice is the hard part...

Rejecting the superficial is good. If that is what you experienced as a Christian then it is understandable. If that causes you to look for something more, then great. But perhaps the more you understand about true Buddhism, the more you will understand true Christianity.

And to be fair you will find closed-mindedness in all religions. They all can appear dogmatic, Buddhism too. There are different tradtitions. There is discipline and practice. Buddhism might be a little different however since it's understanding of morality is based on just that - understanding. It is not dictated by a supernatural being. Buddhism does not demand blind faith. The Buddha's teachings are a raft, and the raft is not the shore, hehe. So perhaps it is a little less dogmatic.

And remember Buddhism shares many good things with Christianity and other religions. To deny truth in other religions is to deny that truth in your own.

I like what Thomas Merton says about this: (and check this guy out)

"The true way is just the opposite: the more I am able to affirm others, to say “yes” to them in myself, by discovering them in myself and myself in them, the more real I am. I am fully real if my own heart says yes to everyone. I will be a better Catholic, not if I can refute every shade of Protestantism, but if I can affirm the truth in it and still go further. So, too, with the Muslims, the Hindus, the Buddhists, etc. This does not mean syncretism, indifferentism, the vapid and careless friendliness that accepts everything by thinking of nothing. There is much that one cannot “affirm” and “accept,” but first one must say “yes” where one really can. If I affirm myself as a Catholic merely by denying all that is Muslim, Jewish, Protestant, Hindu, Buddhist, etc., in the end I will find that there is not much left for me to affirm as a Catholic: and certainly no breath of the Spirit with which to affirm it."
(this would of been good for that other thread)

Are you going to follow all of the Buddha's teachings?

At least he gives you this:

"Do not accept anything on (mere) hearsay - (i.e., thinking that thus have we heard it from a long time). Do not accept anything by mere tradition - (i.e., thinking that it has thus been handed down through many generations). Do not accept anything on account of mere rumors - (i.e., by believing what others say without any investigation). Do not accept anything just because it accords with your scriptures. Do not accept anything by mere suppositions. Do not accept anything by mere inference. Do not accept anything by merely considering the reasons. Do not accept anything merely because it agrees with your pre-conceived notions. Do not accept anything merely because it seems acceptable - (i.e., thinking that as the speaker seems to be a good person his words should be accepted). Do not accept anything thinking that the ascetic is respected by us (therefore it is right to accept his word).

"But when you know for yourselves - these things are immoral, these things are blameworthy, these things are censured by the wise, these things, when performed and undertaken conduce to ruin and sorrow - then indeed do you reject them.

"When you know for yourselves - these things are moral, these things are blameless, these things are praised by the wise, these things, when performed and undertaken, conduce to well-being and happiness - then do you live acting accordingly."

"All conditioned and compounded things have the nature of decay and disintegration. With steadfast mindfulness, endeavour diligently for your own liberation." (buddha's last words)

Enjoy, have patience and humility. Like me!

And don't believe the dualistic hype. (like a disconnection between a creator and the created) It is bs. You don't seek oneness with the universe, you just realize it already exists. You don't "get into" heaven, you experience right now. Basically, you get over yourself.

 

MartianMan, I'm curious as to why you described yourself as a Christian for a decade or however long it was. To me, it seems that your knowledge of Christianity isn't deep enough to warrant discarding it. Were you brought up a Christian? Sorry, I just re-read what you said. You might have more knowledge than your initial post hinted, yet I'm still curious.

And a religion isn't something that fits you. It should be a search for truth. To me, that's what a spiritual search should be about.

 

A = B = C