Buddhism

It's good beer.

I'm not one for alienation myself. I'm more all, "Life is good and enjoy it well." (Easy to say when one is living comfortably, though.)

I'm finally getting around to watching the abovementioned BBC doc on the Buddha's life. There's all this talk about these archaeologists that "may now have evidence" of Buddha as a historical figure, etc.

I can't help but think that the discussion about the historical personage of Siddartha is sort of besides the point. We have this collection of teachings called the Dharma. What does it really matter whether these teachings came from a particular personage whose life corresponds to the Siddartha story and the subsequent sutras, or if they were developed over time by a number of insightful people?

I suppose this is another possible meaning of "Kill the Buddha!"

I just got back from worldwide Padmasambavah transmission from Chogyam Namkhai Norbu rinpoche.

-- dean ge, Monday, July 23, 2007 10:13 PM (1 week ago)

should have stayed there, nude spock

r.i.p.

Though surely, if he's been here "since the first day of ILX" like he says, he'll be back.

That's some foreboding shit.

he has many incarnations

ha

hey guys should i make this bag at cafe press y/n

http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/9/8/12/f_buddhabagm_4cafe6d.png

I'm more all, "Life is good and enjoy it well."

Ned, I see, is an acolylte of Epicurus. This makes perfect sense and suits my idea of his personality down to the last jot and tittle.

So I just downloaded Dogen's 1200 page Shobogenzo in .pdf form in under 5 minutes.

God I love the internet.

If anybody else is into Zen or Dogen or you just want a fascinating, illuminating and beautiful read, here's the link.

I got into Dogen a few years ago and read some stuff. There's no-one like him. Great use of mind-bafflingly obtuse metaphors('The wolf howl in the dead tree stump' etc). Not renowned for his sense of humour, but hey, he was a serious guy.

My teacher's teacher broke his translation up into 4 volumes, so I don't blame anybody for not wanting to go after the whole thing in one go. I def haven't read anywhere near the whole thing, though I know a couple of guys who are trying for it.

Might I recommend, though, Bendowa and the Genjo Koan.

does a big hoos believe in the crazy magical buddhism with karma and nirvana and shit or the other boring kind

karma in a boring way & pretty much "the other boring kind" down the line

i mean i am the universe and you are me and all that shit, but jim jones still sucks.

When my niece was about two years old we had a fine time while I was babysitting her, by learning about "pieces". I explained the concept by throwing a big piece of paper into the air a couple of times and picking it up; then I tore the paper into little pieces and threw the pieces into the air as we both shouted "Pieces!" She liked this so well we did it about six or eight times.

Oddly, I forget how the subject of pieces came up in the first place. We kind of got sidetracked.

there's a book my dad liked that's called buddhism plain and simple.

-- Maria, Monday, 8 July 2002 10:00 (5 years ago) Bookmark Link

^^^^^ x 2342387462387462834682342

i never finished that one. not for me i guess.

does a big hoos believe in the crazy magical buddhism with karma and nirvana and shit or the other boring kind

or maybe Buddha as the original GTD guy, exalting in the nirvanic bliss of a fully completed non-karmic generating to do list in his moleskin hipster PDA?

Have you tried Racking Your Neighbors on the Wheel of Life-And-Death; A Beginner's Guide to Evil Buddhism?

-- Aimless, Monday, July 8, 2002 12:00 AM (5 years ago) Bookmark Link

or maybe Buddha as the original GTD guy, exalting in the nirvanic bliss of a fully completed non-karmic generating to do list in his moleskin hipster PDA?

-- Bob Six, Wednesday, January 9, 2008 7:42 AM

homie kept his mind clear of distraction and focused on what was in front of him.

A photographer named Michael has been blogging as he attempts to maintain his Zen practice during his battle with terminal illness. It's been a heartbreaking, beautiful read all along.

He died a few days ago.

one of my favorite poems of his

if you go fishing you catch fish

:-)

So I know our tendency here (and really throughout the Big Inter-Sect Sangha in the world) is to focus on common ground and gloss over differences, but I'm curious if anyone else is comfortable sharing the specificities of their practices/beliefs.

Just curious. I'd like our little handful of Dharma ILXors to talk more often!

Hey guys, this isn't quite the same as heading to your local Center and sitting with a teacher, but this guy Jundo Cohen has committed to "sit zazen online for the next 9 years." He gives a short lecture (at the moment he's slowly working through Dogen's Fukanzazengi), then sits for about 20 minutes. It's become a regular part of my lunch hour, thought I'd pass it along for those here that don't have access to a local Center.

http://treeleafzen.blogspot.com/

-- BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Saturday, June 30, 2007 8:19 PM (10 months ago) Bookmark Link

haha I am doing jukai w/this guy over the summer

I'd just like to add, having only read about half the thread, that I do find it quite delightful to read. The sparring is gentle, thoughtful and polite and I wish more of ILX was like this (as well as myself).

Dunno if any of you guys are into hip-hop but these guys are pretty cool. I gather that they're Tibetan? Not completely sure.

http://www.qwantz.com/comics/comic2-998.png

Rode the bus with a talkative, wheelchair-bound Buddhist the other day. He was smart and affable enough, but a bit too taken with his own erudition and spiritual accomplishments. Got me to thinking: Buddhism (as I, ignorantly, understand it) is all about surrendering attachments, letting go of the illusory objects -- pysical, intellectual and emotional -- that seem to compose the world, cutting through the momentary in pursuit of the eternal. But why isn't there a spiritually congratualatory term for fanatical attachment? For being wholly devoted to the merely physical here and now?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_materialism might come close?

Those don't work, because they describe spiritual faults. I'm looking a term that boils down to "being Neruda in his youth".

In the context of Indian dharmic religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism), you're talking about the Charvaka philosophy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charvaka#Astika_schools.2C_Buddhism.2C_and_Jainism_versus_C.C4.81rv.C4.81ka

A Cārvāka's thought is characterized by an insistence on joyful living, whereas Buddhism and Jainism are known to emphasize penance. Enjoyment of life in a tempered manner, much like the Epicureans of Greece, was the Cārvākas' primary modus operandi.
The Cārvākas did not deny the difference between the dead and the living and recognized both as realities. A person lives, the same person dies: that is a perceived, and hence the only provable, fact. In this regard, the Cārvākas found themselves at odds with all the other religions of the time.

Rejection of the soul as separate from the body led the Cārvākas to confine their thinking to this world only.

Cool. Have you read his newest book?

Update: Yes I have. It's grebt! More satisfying in many ways than Hardcore Zen, if/because written for a smaller audience.

Also highly recommended: Bring Me The Rhinoceros. Different in style, but equally excellent.

But why isn't there a spiritually congratualatory term for fanatical attachment? For being wholly devoted to the merely physical here and now?

There is: it's "zazen" ;-)

A Cārvāka's thought is characterized by an insistence on joyful living, whereas Buddhism and Jainism are known to emphasize penance.

Now hang on just a minute there!

does a big hoos believe in the crazy magical buddhism with karma and nirvana and shit or the other boring kind

aw ethan you've got it all wrong - the boring buddhism has karma and nirvana and shit; they're just not magical! You might like early Tibetan Buddhism, which has monks flying around and stuff.

one of my favorite poems of his

:-)

;_;

:-)

The philosophy of the Cārvākas is what I'm looking for, but in a sense that elevates engagement with the world to an act of spiritual devotion. So that each instance of desire, compassion, sacrifice, joy and pain is an avenue to spiritual communion. (Perhaps that's exactly what they did/do -- I don't know.)

I asked this question to the guy on the bus, but I don't know that I was able to communicate it clearly: is Buddhism predicated on an unstated dissatisfaction with the material world? Phrased unkindly, the Buddhist (like many spiritual seekers/masters) seems to turn up his/her nose at the given, material world in favor of something supposedly better.

Or perhaps I'm only revealing how little I understand...

Keep in mind that there are a lot of different schools of buddhism, but at least within the Zen tradition the answer is a pretty emphatic no, there is nothing to be dissatisfied by in the material world, and there is nothing better.

You're looking for a mild form of Tantra then, which is not incompatible with Buddhism at all; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajrayana_Buddhism.

The Charvakas were closer to being humanistic atheists, to use a modern analogue

I'm not sure I see the connection between Vajrayana and the fanatical/ecstatic embrace of worldly attachments as a spiritual path. Then again, a Wiki article may not be the best place to start...

Zen might accept such an approach as being in keeping with one's Buddha nature, but again, it isn't specifically devoted to this idea.

I don't know that it's worth wasting time on, or that this is the best place to discuss it, but the idea's been kicking around my head for a few days...

And oops, kinda misread (or at least point-missingly replied to) roger mex's post. Agree that zen doesn't seem to repudiate the world as given, but I don't really know much about it.

I don't know if you're going to find a "fanatical embrace of worldly attachments" in any traditional form of Budddism, honestly; attachments cause bondage, and are to be transcended.

I can't think think off the top of my head which offshoot would support such a view...not even sure if Westernized "Dharma Punx" neo-schools embrace that

its called hedonism and u dont need a tradition to practice it - just go for it homie

lol

http://www.amazon.com/Dharma-Punx-Noah-Levine/dp/0060008954/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219707946&sr=8-1

He mentions he wants to consider becoming ordained (monk/priest) but on a train he starts to have sex with a Swedish woman. He tells us about his new sense of peace, but heads out to a club and begins slam dancing with other dancers because the music is so powerful...

http://cimg2.163.com/ent/2007/6/1/20070601100716547a1.jpg

crazy magical buddhism

Any info/thoughts on shambhala, vipassana, and NKT from ilxors out there? I wish there were a comparison chart widget available--select the traditions of interest, hit "submit," and generate a handy table, just like one could find in Consumer Reports!

aw ethan you've got it all wrong - the boring buddhism has karma and nirvana and shit; they're just not magical! You might like early Tibetan Buddhism, which has monks flying around and stuff.

-- rogermexico., Monday, August 25, 2008 9:15 PM (5 days ago) Bookmark Link

def

boring is beautiful