I barley know anything about the religion except it's mostly meditation. I think, I was wondering. The original Budda was meditating one day and then he becam, 'Enlighted' and knew everything? Is that still possible today?

you really should go on Amazon.com and look up some books on this subject, its a large topic.

also Buddha, "which" wasn't his real name, didn't just sit around and become enlightened, he was born a prince, but saught to become like the gurus so he starved himself nearly to death and was tempted by demons, until he recieved a vision that basically told him the nature of needs and desires and showed him that his suffering and starving was from a desire to become enlightened but one can not become enlightened this way and its was his own desire that caused his suffereing and it is desire for worldly wants that causes all suffering.

yes that is correct Rhuen. his beliefs were on reincarnation and the end of suffering

oh and xorn it is most definitely possible today

wow... all that i knew but the starving to death part, i did not know... it seems similar to christianity, when jesus starved in the desert for 40 days...



xorn... LISTEN TO HIM! he is the almighty buddha reincarnated!!! :D ((don't believe me?? whatch his nickname ^_^ )) lol...



.... i think that meditation is just another way of releasing stress by searching a stillness of the mind.. hard to do but worth the try

I am not buddha..but I have similar beliefs and also to jesus..I just think jesus was taken way the wrong way at times

*comes in and sweeps the topic into his can.* silly rabbits, posts like this are for off-topic.

buddhism doesn't really have a holy book to go by either...it is more of an experience than rules

Use the net for it's greater purpose and do some research if you are really interested....and that one place some refer to as the "library"..you know, the place with all the books. Learning things on your own can be just as fulfilling as the knowledge you gain.

If you are looking for "enlightenment" then here is a clue. Stay the fuck away from religion; all it is going to do is trap you into a preconceived mindset that has been flawed since its conception.

actually religion is the place to look..but the human mind has twisted it from what the true messages are...

Siddhartha Gautama was born a prince and as such he was not allowed to leave the palace grounds. When he was still young in age he convinced a palace guard (or servant, I can't recall) to enter the city with him. While walking through the crowded city streets Siddhartha was overcome by the sickness, disease and poverty which ran rampant without him ever knowing about it. It struck a chord with him and he was saddened by his new view of the world. Still while walking through the streets Siddhartha saw a man, garbed in the dirtiest of clothes, covered in scars and marks from a hard life. These things Siddhartha noticed but it was the beaming smile upon the man's face which commanded Siddhartha's attention. Upon seeing this he asked the guard why the man was smiling, to which the guard replied, "Ah, he is a holy man. He is enlightened".
I believe it was at this moment Siddhartha swore to never return to the palace and to seek enlightenment.
And so for years Siddhartha sought enlightenment but he could not find it. He had seen so much, he had brought much thought to bear on enlightenment and in frustration he sat beneath a fig tree and spoke aloud, "Enlightenment can be obtained anywhere so I shall find it here. I will not leave the shade of this tree until I have found enlightenment" (paraphrased). So for days Siddhartha sat underneath the fig tree and on the seventh day he was enlightened and he became the Budda.

This is what I recall from my early readings into Buddism. While I would agree with Aaron in some ways about the dangers of organized religion I would also point out that using the fundamentals that each faith offers is a great place to start on your own quest to find god.

I myself believe in a variety of things and I am heavily influenced by Buddism, or more specifically Zen Buddism.
If Buddishm interests you may I recommend books by Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced Tick-Not-Han). He is an amazing man, I have several of his books and they're all very good. The Stone Boy (and other stories) is light but is very thought provoking. Though, if you're just looking for information about Buddism he also wrote "The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching" which should give you a good understanding.

The human mind conceived religion; it didn't twist it... Religion is nothing more than a coping mechanism humanity has adopted to come to grips with their own mortality...

Aah, joy. A forum I finally found interest in. There are two types of practices. There is Zen. Then, there is Zen Buddhism. Zen Buddhism focuses' on the relgion facet. Were as Zen focuses' on moreless philosophy and the existence. How reality is an illusion created by our minds etc.. That and the Void. Although I'm not an expert on Religion, my main area of expertise is in the Occult. My brother is a practicing Zen Buddhist. So, I tend to learn things from him a bit. May I also suggest a book on Zen.

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. -- 101 Zen Stories --anecdotes and enlightenment stories of the greatest master.

And someothers.

ahh..I had not seen your reply Aaron....Thank you for your words though...
yes the concept of religion was created by man...
I do not believe it to be just a coping mechanism..well maybe for some it may be, but unless you actually see it as it truly is, then the blind you shall be

You are calling me blind because I refuse to take solace believing the delusions spewed forth by confused individuals about a great and mystical force that lives in the clouds. Give me a fuckin break, religion works on misdirection and guilt, they say the only way to find peace is to have blind faith in something you cant perceive with the normal five senses, but not only that, when you ask about the proof of Gods existence they say they have none and that you need to have faith that he exists and cares for your soul… Here is one to ponder, if God cares for us all so damn much then why has he never chosen to appear to the masses and refute all the doubts of his existence once and for all… I’ll tell you why… It’s because God doesn’t exist, there is no Heaven, there is no Hell, and there is no afterlife… When you die you are simply dead, end of fuckin story… People who cant come to grips with this choose to believe in God… And as far as I’m concerned they are nothing more than misguided sheep that refuse to take control of their own lives because they can’t handle the consequences of their own mortality. They sing amazing grace every Sunday morning but all I hear is “Baaaaaa baaa baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa”…. Fuckin sheep…

* This rant has only been my opinion… it cannot be proven… if you take offense to what I believe then you can kindly fuck off and not whine to me about it *

Just for the record, I'm not attacking you personally Buddha, just venting about the concept in general...

:D

Id have to agree soley with what Aaron has just said.
"The human mind conceived religion; it didn't twist it... Religion is nothing more than a coping mechanism humanity has adopted to come to grips with their own mortality... "

That and his rant..makes him the king. :D
(cause you said it so true..I was gonna say something along those lines..but no need to now that you have! )

lol..well I agree withmost of what you said...here is one thing I would like to comment on
Give me a fuckin break, religion works on misdirection and guilt, they say the only way to find peace is to have blind faith in something you cant perceive with the normal five senses, but not only that, when you ask about the proof of Gods existence they say they have none

misdirection and guilt yes..that is how conventional religion is. I agree with you that all of this is very misguided, in fact it is my main reason for not really listening to preachers or rabbi or anything as such, because most of them are just as blind as the rest....you know that god exists when you know...but don't think it is about faith...it is about finding your true self...it can be sensed, and it is very real...
misconseptions about what religion has made god to be is the biggest farce to me....to think that it is a man or a spirit or even a being....lol
I don't feel threatened at all Aaron and I appreciate your comments toatlly

I've wanted to say that for so long...

Brilliant. :)

My is that for the most part, Aaron, I agree with you. Organized religion, in my experience, directs the masses through guilt and illusion no different than the Great and Powerful Oz used in his hayday.

To me it sounds like you are arguing against fundamental western religion, Catholocism, Christianity and the like. I would agree, these more than any religion I have had experience with use deception as a means to ensure salvation. What about Eastern religions like Buddism?

Just because you cannot see it doesn't mean it isn't there. Yes, most religions require "faith" the belief knowing there can be no proof but while seemingly illogical it does have some basis that is valid.

I don't think you need to see God, I don't need to hear about some crack-ass system which is supposed to save or damn my soul, all I care about is what I think God is to me. By believing there is some example to be followed, some measure of action that should be taken, to earn a place in whatever afterlife there is people will better themselves to earn that place.

Religion isn't a bad thing dude, if it makes someone happy then so be it. If it inspires them to live fuller, to live more completely then it isn't a bad thing. The danger of religion comes when someone believes that the rest of the world can only be happy if they accept what that one individual believes.

As for me, I believe there is something more powerful than me out there. I don't really pay much attention as I don't personally care whether what I'm doing is pleasing to this diety, he can kiss my ass, but I still believe something to be there.

Sounds to me like your aren't necessarily looking for God as much as the knowledge that comes when you become truly self aware.

lol...in my opinion you can't look for god...god is everything..to me there is no greater power than the energy that is within everything and makes everything based on the building blocks of biology..this energy that is the atoms and moves the wind and makes the sun shine is god....
it is already within everyone because we are all made of the same stuff...reconnecting with it to me is the main message that most religions don't even begin to realize...god is not a person or spirit to me..god is everything and when we die..I do not believe that any memory will be retained for that is a physical attribute, but the energy that we are made of will simply transfer to something else..we are all a part of that whole...I do not seek it at all..it is what I feel constantly..lol
tom me aaron the search is the same to become self aware and to find god...I hope you understand what I am saying
thank you for reading this

I'm against any form of organized religion, I don't care what brand name you put on it... If there are a certain set of guidelines you have to follow to be accepted by the members of that faith then I am against it. I believe you should live a good life, not because some man reads to you out of a book that there's a certain way you're supposed to live, but because you have a conscience that tells you the difference between right and wrong. I don’t need someone preaching to me how to live, I can tell the difference between right and wrong all by myself, the rest of their fundamental crap is just useless rhetoric that they are to insecure to abandon.


If I cant sense it in any way I refuse to believe in it, just that simple...


That's what I'm getting at, finding a system that works for the individual on a personal level...


I'm not against religion for everyone else, just for me personally... In general it does convey a positive message, there's just a point where it looses it's inspirational value and people start flying planes into buildings in the name of God... Like I said earlier "misdirection and guilt"...

I totally understand and I like your perspective, like I said... Everyone needs to find that niche that works for them, that is what religion is truly about.

indeed..truly about..without all the politicall mumbo jumbo

It seems to me we're on the same page, the only difference is while we agree I personally believe in God and you don't. Works for me.

Truth be told I don't actually believe in God. I believe we are God. I think that we as a species are all tied into a collective consciousness and that consciousness is God.

But yeah, like Budda said, it's the search for self-realization that is important. Learning outside your world to discover who you are is far more important than the search for God.

I would rather know who I am than who God is.

Exactly!

I was under the impression that he became weak and hungry under the fig tree, and that after 7 days he came apon the idea of the middle path (instead of gluttony and/or self depriving). which his thought was that being hungry and weak was not in any way aiding his quest for enlightenment (as many in that day believed it did). kind of ironic, since the realization that he was going about it wrong 'was' his great enlightenment in a way.

anyway, perhaps i am incorrect, i heard this from a group of buddhists i have known, not from a documented source.

incidently, regarding religeon vs. enlightenment, i tend to agree that it gets in the way more than it helps. however, buddhism is really more of a 'philosophy' than a religeon, its religeous trappings come from it being a philosophy born in a hindu culture.

Kath :meow: