Medyo natagalan ako dito...
madaming resources... at medyo natagalan sa initial testing phase... hehehe.. :)
Disclaimer: Contents written here are based on my opinion and excerpts from various research materials (websites, audio books, ebooks). Contents should not be taken as a concrete resource in knowing Buddhism. Ika nga ni Buddha, "I encourage you to test the teaching rather than accept it as true" For more info, just google Buddhism :)
Apologies na din sa mga taga-ibang religion kung ma-o-offend man kayo sa mga sasabihin ko, as i've said, opinion ko lang naman yan... kaya peace tyo hah... :) kung may madadagdag kyong information to enlighten me, then by all means, feel free to post your comment.
I will start first with my misconceptions before I started reading about buddhism. I think marami-rami ding tao ang may kaparehong maling akala...
My Misconceptions:
1. Buddha (a.k.a. Siddhartha Gautama) is their god.
No, for Buddhists, Buddha is their great teacher, not God. In fact, Buddhism is a religion that centers around man, not God. Buddha, by the way, means "one that is awaken". So technically, all of us have the potential to be Buddha.
2. Buddhists worship Buddha
They pay respect to their great teacher, not worship. It’s more of gratitude for sharing his teachings. As i've said, Buddha is not God.
3. Buddhism = being poor
Blame the movies for this misconception! Hindi naman sinasabi ng buddhism na wag ka ng magka-ambisyon or kapirasong orange na tela lang ang isuot mo, magpakalbo ka, at dapat mukha kang malnourished. Ika nga sa kanila, one should take the middle path, di OA sa pagpapakahirap, di din OA sa pagpapakasasa… in short, moderation.
Teachings in a nutshell:
Meron daw na 4 Noble Truths:
1. Life, although sometimes beautiful, is filled with suffering. It’s not pessimistic, but realistic.
2. The source of suffering is desire.
3. Suffering can be overcome, and happiness can be achieved.
4. The Noble 8-fold path is the path that leads to the end of suffering.
In other words, getting what you want does not guarantee happiness. Rather than constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting. Wanting
deprives us of contentment and happiness.
The Noble 8-fold path:
1. Right View
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration
1-2 pertains to having wisdom
- It means to acknowledge the 4 noble truths and to have the commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement.
3-5 is about ethical conduct:
- One must live life in harmony with EVERY creature. Aside from not stealing, have a generous heart. One's livelihood must not cause harm to any creature. One must not indulge in alcohol / drugs, since Buddhism is about being in control of your mind and body.
6-8 is about our personal mental development
- One of the ways towards enlightenment is to be self-aware, to have focus and control, wherein all mental faculties are unified and directed to one particular object at a time.
My Pro's and Con's:
Pro's:
1. Going to the temple is not required, kahit sa bahay lang pwede na!
- pang tamad! :)
2. It's a very peaceful religion
- nakarinig ka na ba ng suicide bomber na sumigaw ng "for buddha!"... kidding aside, please see this excerpt: (sorry di ko na maalala yung website na pinagkunan ko nyan... dami na kse...)
Real Buddhism is very tolerant and not concerned with labels like 'Christian',
'Moslem', 'Hindu' or 'Buddhist'; that is why there have never been any wars
fought in the name of Buddhism. That is why Buddhists do not preach and try to
convert, only explain if an explanation is sought.
3. It's a religion that uses the head.
- although may mga anecdotes and "flowery" stories, most of the teachings are very well grounded. ika nga, walang "now it's bread, later it's something else, wala ng tanong-tanong, basta ganun!..." (no offense meant dear christians :) )
Buddha himself asked his followers to test the teaching rather than accept his
word as true. Buddhism depends more on understanding than faith.
4. It's a very "accepting" religion
ngayon lang ako nakarinig ng religion na ok lang ang gays and lesbians, live-in, at pre-marital sex. basta ang importante lang, pure ang intention, consensual, at hindi nagcau-cause ng harm.
Con's:
1. The religion centers on man, not God.
- kaya nga sabi ng iba, mas accurate daw na tawaging "way of life / philosophy" ang buddhism, kaysa religion, kse nga it's based on understanding, not faith. kya parang gusto ko syang ihalo sa ibang religion, preferably a monotheistic religion. mono, meaning ISA lang talga... ayaw ko nung "isa pero tatlo" di ba nakakaloka? ...
2. I find some Buddha statues scary…
- actually, pati mga santo, barbie dolls, or life-like dools / images for that matter... blame it on chuckie!
3. I am incapable of sitting still and having a full meditation…
I’ve tried and I’ve tried, but to no avail… in fairness, dati less than 1 minute, give up na ako, ngayon umaabot na ako ng 2 minutes! (nagmalaki pa e noh?!) Masyado lang talga siguro akong neurotic... yung feeling ko dapat may mas "tangible" akong ginagawa kesa naka-upo. One day at a time ika nga... still the mind and be self-aware!
as of now, testing phase pa din ako...
"always act with a compassionate heart" --->
5 comments:
Very interesting. This would have been my religion too (kasi tamad din ako. nyahahaha). Pero seriously, I like it also.
Re: ONE God.
I went to church last sunday (for the first time since May) and I was thinking about your posts. Then, something hit me. In your religion searching, especially if it's about the ONE God of the New or Old Testament, you will have to consider the 'bible'. Where does this fit into your life? Is it a book of authority or simple stories? If you will not use it as a book of authority, then what makes you think there is a God? He could have been made up, right? And if you will take the bible as an authority, will you accept only the Old Testament? or also include the New Testament? If you will take only the Old, then you are well on your way to Judaism, I think. But if you will take the New Testament, I think you will eventually return to Roman Catholic Faith. Are you getting my point? I could go on and on to where it can lead but I'm guessing you get the point about the bible as a consideration.
Of course, I'm not trying to push you towards a certain belief. Just thought it would confuse you more, este, give more depth to your quest. Hehehe. Think about it, and let me know by blog post or email.
My stand on the bible is simply this, while it contains rich stories and some religious truths, it’s hard for me to make it as a reliable reference. Parang source code yan e, pag kung sino-sino na ang nag-maintain, for sure magkaka-regression bug, lalo na kung di ka sure kung bakit nya ginawa yung isang snippet ng code. Sa dinami-dami ng nag-interpret at translate from the original texts (na hindi rin sure kung pano i-translate), it’s not exactly what I’d call a solid reference.
Wala pa akong masyadong alam sa Judaism, pro from what I know, e para sa kanila, di pa dumarating ang savior. (kung katoliko ka, medyo nakakaloka db?.. “dumating na kaya, mag-se-second coming pa nga e, duh?!”)
Regarding the Roman Catholic Faith, ang problema ko kse dito, napakaraming mga bagay na hindi nila mapaliwanag, and are simply dismissed all because it “says” so in the bible. And by “says so in the bible”, eh they mean “as we, the higher authority in the catholic church, interpret the bible”. Parang mayordoma… Isa lang ang sinabi ng amo e, sandamakmak na ang iniutos sa mga maid…. God gives unconditional love, pro pag dumaan na sa middle management (aka, catholic big bosses), it’s “not so unconditional” anymore. (“dapat mag-mass ka muna… tsaka sa mass, bawal maging pari ang babae… bakit? Eh yun ang tradition namin e… “)
Although, I understand naman na pra sa mga bagay na hindi mapaliwanag, dun dapat pumapasok ang faith, pro medyo abuso na kse sa catholic religion… For me, I should only have faith in one thing, and that is God’s existence, period. Hindi ko mapapaliwanag kung pano ko nasabing He exists, or wala din akong mabibigay na reference to any book just to prove it. At the end of the day, sulat lang yan sa papel, pwedeng masunog, mabasa, at mag-fade. It’s the same as paano mo nasabing anak ka talaga ng nanay mo, naaalala mo ba nung lumabas ka sa sinapupunan nya? Hindi di ba… pro you know… lukso ng dugo ika nga. Poor argument, pro parang ganun. “Faith” should be reserved for those things that your willing to live and die for without batting an eyelash. Ayaw kong sayangin ang faith ko sa mga bagay tulad ng “3 for 1” (parang bargain), and “bread, then poof, it’s something else!”, etc... Pro kung may mga taong gustong i-invest ang faith nila sa mga bagay na yan, then by all means, do so. bilib nga ako sa kanila kse marami silang reserba ng faith... akin kse konti lang... hehehe
I don’t mind the comments, actually mas gusto ko nga yun at mas napapag-isip ako.
Disclaimer din pla… Wla rin akong intention na mag-recruit or manira ng faith ng ibang tao… ika nga, kung yan ang paniniwala mo, aba’y wala na akong paki dyan (as long as di mo ako i-ooffer as sacrifice, or something like that) hehehe…
Salamat sa comments / insights!
mas mahaba pa yung comment niyo sa regular blog entry ko... >.<
- frank
nyaaahahaha...
basta religion talaga, mahabang usapan at diskusyunan yan... pro masaya nga yun diba? basta wala lang mang-su-suicide bombing... :)
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