Just Wondering... What exactly is Buddhism about? I don't understand what this religion has to say?

Question

I'm from a Roman Catholic family, but personally I haven't been to church in almost 5-7 years since confirmation. I just don't get spiritual satisfaction from this religon. I pretty much steer into atheism, although wonder about Eastern religions. What does Buddhism say about how you should live, the afterlife, reincarnation, spirituality, etc. How is it different from Catholicism? Does anyone feel like they feel more fulfulled after converting to Buddhism? Where should I go to learn more about Buddhism?

Answer 1

My dear friends,

I have read all of the answers with much curiosity and enthuaism, however if I were [nickp], I would not be at all satisfied. Though I give my opinions from my own practice and spiritual realization, I in no mean intend to claim that my answer is ultimate; it is merely another perspective of looking at this question our learned friend has raised.

In total our friend has asked 4 questions, where the first is broken in to another 4. I shall attempt to deal with them all at once, but they are all SO great and in-depth topics that there may not be time to speak them all in full prospective.

One of the major teachings of Buddhism is that through one's own purity they may influence the surrounding environment to become as pure as they are. I could easily list out the Eightfold Path, the Four Noble Truths, the Tweleve Nidanas, or the thigns to avoid/refrain from, the Eight Winds, the Five Poisons (Three in some traditions), the Seven Emotions and Six Desires and so forth, BUT this would only confuse you. The most fundamental of principles is not to get angry, under no circumstance raise your temper; peace at heart leads to peace around. Through our body, speech and mind never generate any sort of anger; this is the basics. There are over hundreds of teachings of why this is important, from the most basic creating negative karma to your own personal meditation and reception of positive energy of the universe. With Karma there is positive, negative and neutral, much like the sins of Christianity, negative Karma is what pulls people into the realms of Hell. The afterlife is very dependant on this factor - Karma, and of course, there are other forms of deeds, such as Holy Karma, Buddha Karma, Merits etc... the latter three are achieved only through spritual means. They may lead to a more favourable afterlife, it is like - please not LIKE - having a credit card of different caliber, some may take you to more extravagant places than others; ie. silver, gold platinum...etc So the principle of Buddhism is to try and do postive Karma, or even better to do Holy Karma, Buddha Karma or the best is to gain virtuous merits through "special" deeds. It is through the accumulation of such merits that a Buddha is reincarnated life-afterlife, such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama --> Guan Yin Buddha.

The religion differs from Catholicism greatly, not to say that Catholicism is bad, only to say they have different views of the universe. For example, you may say Granny Smith Apples are sweet, where I would say they are as sour as lemons. but as you can see, many of their fundamental principles are identical, only the prespective they take are different. Taking anger again as the main topic, how many people practicing Catholicism would tell you to never get angry inside your mind. They would mainly say, body-wise and speech-wise do not get angry. Since the causes and conditions have it that I raise this topic again, I will link it up to one of your comments - spritual satisfaction.

The Great Sage Sakyamuni Buddha came to this Earth 2500+ years ago (I did not state the exact figure because different schools have different understanding) to spread one thing; the ultimate virtuous kindness compassion and wisdom, which can be summarised as His Teachings of Buddhist Dharma. But this is something of the material world, words or concepts that are tangible to our simpe human consciousness. In essence, it is something of the spritual world, the positive energy of the universe. All of Lord Buddha's teachings were designed for one goal, to help us communicate with the positive energy of the universe, thus allowing us to find peace within. When an individual becomes completely immersed in the Dharma, totally in yoga with the positive energies of the universe - one is all, all is one - then this person is no longer an ordinary being, but a Buddha. Buddha constantly feels the serenity and solemn nature of Dharma Bliss, a phenomena that many practitioners of Buddhism feel after entering the practice.

As for your final question, I feel that this is choice you must make for yourself. If you feel reading books written by HIs Holiness the Dalai Lama works and befits your root capacity, then for all means go for it. If you feel no reading, but pure meditation - similar to the Zen/Chan School of Buddhism - then by all means, go for it. I cannot, and nobody can tell you HOW you should learn Buddhism, because if Buddhism was such a religion then people would accuse us of trying to "recruit" Buddhists. If, in the end of all this research and experience, you feel that Buddhism is not for, then that is great as well.

Buddhism is not about getting more disciples or followers, it is about bringing about happiness in the current lifetime; this concept is expanded to future lifetimes when you become a follower. Yes, I understand it sounds unfair, "oh, you are not a follower, hence cannot have access to a liberation method for future lives". But it is only when one becomes a follower does an individuals' faith and practice becomes strong enough to lead them into such a profound and abstract comprehension of this religion.

I truly hope this helps you in your spiritual journey for the ultimate truth of the universe, but I am strongly aware that this has been VERY brief - in both literal and substantial terms - please forgive me.

If I have offended, or any of our learned friends on the world wide web see problems with my words, please openly and stringently criticise and educate me.

In Dharma,
vhy~

PS> I purposely did not delve into the different sects of Buddhism because that was not the purpose of the our friend asking the question. note to: [JOJO] - you forgot about Vajrayana, so it makes 3.

Answer 2

First of all i should say that there is no such thing called as converting 2 Buddhism.From the minute u accept the religious teaching of lord Buddha and try 2 follow him,u bcome a buddhist.Buddhism is divided into 2 parts called Theravada and Mahayana like Christians and Catholics.In my religion there are no rules and regulations like u must go to the temple in once in a week or so so..........The basic of Buddhism is that "Everything in this worl changes,there r no such iternal things which will last 4ever."The difference between the 2 religions is Buddhism shows the path 2 stop rebirth while Christianity talks about heaven and superiority. Buddhism teaches moral values and how to co-operate with other parties such as parents,teachers,friends,monks,husband/wife etc.It is very hard to explain about Buddhist teachings like this as it has very deep teachings.U cn borrow books about buddhism from libraries and do ur own researches,if nt go 2 a temple and meet a monk.Bt make sure u go 2 a theravadi temple as i dnt knw about Mahayana Buddhism.I cn only guarantee wt i know.Think urself whether Buddhism is acceptable or nt before u take a decision to become a Buddhist.Buddhism gives u the freedom 2 think and decide.

Answer 3

Buddhism: Not a religion. You can overlay your own religious belief system onto it if you want. But that's your own stuff. Buddhism is a self-training, and like any training program, religious beliefs are not relevant to the program. Buddhism is a set of practices your do. You either do them or your don't. A form of interior self-training, of facing yourself clearly and openly, and the insights that develop and that change you profoundly. Inner changes that do not make sorrow or suffering go away, but take away the "hook' and the "sting" so that you can move through live with lightness, with sorrow, with peace and joy. The Buddhist “learns to watch changes occurring in all physical experiences, in feelings and in perceptions. He learns to study his own mental activities and the fluctuations in the character of consciousness itself. All of these changes are occurring perpetually and are present in every moment of our experiences. Meditation is a living activity, an inherently experiential activity. It cannot be taught as a purely scholastic subject.” (“Mindfulness in Plain English” by Venerable H. Gunaratana Mahayhera, a Theravadan Buddhist teacher) People are correct when they say that religion is a way of life. I have been two other religions in my life (Catholic and Hindu) before becoming a Buddhist (with a Tibetan lama as my local teacher). And the way of life in these religions is philosophical with some prayer or meditation thrown in. Buddhism is much more like an applied form of cognitive-behavior psychology. Which is why it is something you "do" .. not something you believe, think, or even specific outer behaviors.

Answer 4

Buddhism show us the path to the real truth governing the life and existence of us which is always a question to many of us.

Buddhism speaks about the nature of life which is to be born and subjected to decay no matter who they are . Nothing is permanent in the face of earth .

Buddhism preach peace through loving kindness to all sentient beings ( metta ) and compassion ( maha karuna ) towards all .

Buddhism preached way of ending unnecessary desire , which brings to cessation of sufferings and in the end ending the rebirth cycle .

Buddhism does not talk about an external force governing our daily livelyhood but rather asked us to do good , avoid all evil and purify the mind for the benefit of our own and others .

Answer 5

I was a former Catholic, so I know where you are coming from. Why would you want to go completely opposite of Christianity? Frankly, Buddhism is atheism with a spiritual touch. They do not believe in the God of the Bible, in Christ, or in forgiveness of sin by grace. Have you considered exploring Christianity without the RC church? If interested in discussing this further, since we have something in common, visit my 360 page and send me a message.

Answer 6

Buddhism is the realization that life consists of unhappiness, and unhappiness comes from desire, which can never be completely satisfied. Peace of mind comes from extinguishing desire. And while we're in this world of pain and suffering, we should help our felow human being. Buddhism believes in reincarnation, successive lives for us to make progress toward enlightenment and achieving nirvana, after which the cycle of death and rebireth ends, and we merge with the Cosmos, individual identity-- which is the source of suffering-- is no more. I think that's better than an eternity of bowing before the Throne, singing "Alleluia".

Answer 7

Buddhism does provide a very satisfying feeling.

From my time studying the religion I found it to be very enlightening. It can help you to truly find a calm center and see things from multiple perspectives.

It would take far to long to go into details, and I do not feel qualified to discuss the tennets of buddhism, in all honesty.

Check out books by the Dalai Lama. You can pick them up in any bookstore.

Answer 8

Buddhism (also known as Buddha Dharma, "the teachings of the awakened one") is a religion, a practical philosophy, and arguably a psychology, focusing on the teachings of Gautama Buddha.

When used in a generic sense, a Buddha is generally considered to be a person who discovers the true nature of reality through years of spiritual cultivation, investigation of the various religious practices of his time, and meditation. This transformational discovery is called bodhi - literally, "Awakening" (more commonly called "Enlightenment"). Any person who has become awakened from the "sleep of ignorance" by directly realizing the true nature of reality is called a Buddha.

According to the Buddha, any person can follow his example and become enlightened through the study of his words "Dharma" and putting them into practice, by leading a virtuous, moral life, and purifying his mind. Concisely put, the aim of Buddhist practice is to put an end to the stress of existence. "I teach one thing and one thing only: suffering and the end of suffering" (The Buddha). To achieve this state (Nirvana), adherents train and purify the mind by following the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the Middle Way, eventually arriving at an understanding of the true nature of all things, thus ending (nirodha) all ignorance and unhappiness and attaining liberation: nirvāṇa (Pāli nibbāna). Buddhist teaching encourages individuals to practice and verify Buddha's teachings based on their own personal experience, to question whether they are valid or not, and if so, to apply them in a practical form into their daily life if they so wish.

To read what the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the Middle Way are you can visit the link below!

Blessings and Light

~RW

Answer 9

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/pathmaps.htm <<< buddhism basics

Simply speaking, this is to avoid harming others and to help them as much as possible. Another way of expressing this is, Abandon negative action; create perfect virtue; subdue your own mind. This is the teaching of the Buddha. By abandoning negative actions (killing, etc.) and destructive motivations (anger, attachment, close-mindedness, etc.), we stop harming ourselves and others. By creating perfect virtue, we develop beneficial attitudes, like impartial love and compassion, and do actions motivated by these thoughts. By subduing our mind, we cut away all false projections, thus making ourselves calm and peaceful by understanding reality.

The essence of Buddha’s teachings is also contained in the three principles of the path: definite emergence, the dedicated heart and wisdom realizing emptiness. Initially, we seek definitely to emerge from the confusion of our problems and their causes. Then, we see that other people also have problems, and with love and compassion, we dedicate our heart to becoming a Buddha so that we are capable of helping others extensively. In order to do this, we develop the wisdom understanding the real nature of ourselves and other phenomena.

Buddhism depends more on understanding than faith.

Answer 10

Buddhism is just teaching principles

i suggest do some research and later on you'll find out more than you'd expect