anyone know anything about BUDDHISM ??

Question

I'm trying to understand their concept of No "i" and No Soul .. Buddhism denies the existance of a soul as it denies the existance of a self... that there is no soul so there is no ego that rules our life on earth which is an illusion.

I am also having difficulties with since there is no i or self because we are constantly changing beings. Coming to the 5 aggregates .. of matter, feelings, perception, volitions, and consciousness. which is constantly changing.. so we are constantly changing.

Could you tell me your thoughts ?

Answer 1

Why am I not surprised to see christians speaking from ignorance here? Clearly the asker is just looking for information rather than remaining in ignorance. If you read the question it clearly states "I'm trying to understand their concept". THEIR concept. I can't fault anyone trying to understand things rather than repeating dogma. Many people claim the bible teaches tolerance, although if any of you took some time out to read the thing you would clearly see otherwise. E.g. exodus 12 29-30
http://www.godisimaginary.com

As for the question at hand. This will probably be a good start:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
There are also some good links down the bottom of that page.
Good luck

Answer 2

Howdy,

Stay focused on the five aggregates, you're on the right track. I think it would help if you look into how "I" or "Soul" is defined in Buddhist teachings. During the Buddha's time, the Brahmins were a group whose philosophy believed in a concept of 'soul' defined as "an unchanging, permanent entity that transmigrate from body to body." The Buddha said how could this be possible, if one of the nature of existence is impermanence? Things are impermanent because things are dependent on other things (as related in the teachings of the 5 aggregates). Humans are made up of different parts in order to be classified with a label of "human."

This might be an unconventional meditation object but think of a loaf of bread; in order to classify a thing as "bread" it would have to have the basic ingredients and conditions: grain, flour, water, yeast, heat (temperature) in order for a thing called "bread" to exist. The next question is: which part of this thing called "bread" represent its true essence, what is it about it that makes it "bread?" Answer: "None!" because without grain or flour or water or yeast, heat of an oven, etc. it would not exist. Each ingredient plays an integral part.

This bread example is quite simplified, but I just wanted to illustrate how the aggregates play an important part in the understanding of the concept of no "I" or "self." The human condition is far complicated than a cup of flour or a pack of yeast---humans have "feelings, perception, volitions and consciouness" to contend with!

I hope I didn't further or added more confusion. The Buddha's teaching is of an experiential matter. The teachings are broken into three parts: first there is 'study," it is called "pariyatti," of the teachings or Dhamma---after all, how can we really understand why the Buddha taught, if we don't study *what* he taught; 2nd is pattipati, or applying or practicing what has been learned/studied; and 3rd is pativedha, "realizing or penetrating the goal" or those "a-ha!" moments.

I think 'patience' is required along the journey, I hope you will continue to seek understanding, if not here...somewhere else.

Answer 3

Sadhu for asking the question.
The Buddha countered all soul-theory and soul-speculation with his ANATTA doctrine.
To understand the Anatta doctrine,one must understand that the eternal soul thoery--'I have a soul'--and the material theory--'I have no soul'--are both obstacles to self-realisaton or salvation.They arise from the misconception 'I AM'.Hence,to understand the Anatta doctrineone must not cling to any opinion or views on soul-theory;rather,one must try to see things objectively as they are and without any mental projections.One must learn to see the so-called 'I' or SOUL or SELF for what it really is:merely a combination of changing forces.
The Buddha taught that what we conceive as something eternal within us ,is merely a combination of physical and mental aggregates or forces,made up of body or matter,sensation,perception,mental formations and consciousness.These forces are working together in a flux of momentary change;they are never the same for two consecutive moments.They are the component forces of the psycho-physical life.When the Buddha analysed the psycho-physical life,HE found only these five aggregates or forces.He did not find any eternal soul.However,many people still have misconception that the soul is the consciousness.The Buddha declared in unequivocal terms that conscoiusness arises dependent on matter,sensation,perception and mental formations and that it cannot exist independently of them.
The body is not the SELF.Sensation is not the SELF.Perception is not the SELF.The mental constructions are not the SELF.And neither is consciousness the SELF.

Answer 4

You have mentioned few concepts based on the philosophy of Buddhism.
1.There is no soul or self.
2.Consequently there is no ego.
3.Life on earth is illusion.
4.We are combination of matter, subtle perceptions and consciousness.
5.We are constantly changing

Here are in short the proper understandings based on the timeless Vedic teachings, which unfortunately the Buddhist philosophy is not fully in compliance with.

1.There is a soul, which is spiritual by nature. The soul is the actual individual self. It is eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. There are basically two types of souls: conditioned and liberated. The number of souls in the creation is unlimited. The souls in the material world transmigrate from one body into another in 8 400 000 species of life including demigods, humans, animals, birds, plants, aquatics, microbes, etc. This is called reincarnation. When the soul becomes enlightened it attains liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
2.Ego always exists. It is manifested through the concepts of “I” and “mine”. There are two types of ego: false ego and real ego. False ego is when the soul identifies with the material body and mind. This is called conditioned life. The soul under the influence of the false ego thinks that “I am this body” and “Everything that is related to the body is mine – family, land, nation, humanity, etc.” The conditioned soul falsely thinks that “I am the master of everything I survey”, “I am independent, I am the controller, I am the enjoyer”. The liberated person is free from the misidentifications of the false ego. But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have ego. He/she is established in the real ego – namely “I am not this body, I am spirit soul”, “ I am eternal servant of God. Everything belongs to Him”
3.Life on earth is not illusion. It is real, but it is temporary. It is like playing roles and wearing costumes in a drama. The illusion is when we forget who we really are and we identify with the roles and costumes (our bodies).
4.Yes, we can say that we are combination of consciousness, gross and subtle body. Consciousness is the symptom of the soul, the same way as light is the symptom of the sun. The gross and subtle bodies are the coverings of the soul. The gross body consists of the elements earth, water, fire, air and ether. The subtle body is comprised of mind, intelligence and false ego. The real self is the soul, which is spiritual in nature.
5.We are not changing. The body is. Every body goes through six changes in life: birth, growth, maintenance, giving by products, dwindling and death. But the soul remains the same eternally.

Hope this gives you some more information. Please feel free to write me for further clarification.

Answer 5

Some of Buddhism sayings or teachings should not be taken literally.

For example:
The concept of "Mushin" or "No Mind". The concept does not implies that there is no mind but teaches people not to be attached to mind or "dual thinking".

When a Buddhist monk says about no self, that doesn't mean he believes there is no physical self. He may refer "no self" as to mean that we should not have "a greedy self", "uncontrol lust", "a selfish self", "an evil self" etc. That is why Buddhism emphasis on the technique of meditation.

Answer 6

what no "i" or "self" means is just that "i" or "self" do not inherantly exist. In short, your concept of self depends on your brain and your body, therefore it cannot exist inherantly because it depends on the componants that make it up. therefore it is empty. but it must be empty and not exist inherantly in order for it to have an effect on anything or be affected by anything. also, we constantly change because we are empty, so the world around us can affect us. it doesn't mean that the self really isn't there, it just means that it cannot exist on its own.

if that's confusing, i would go buy or check out the book "How to Practice" by the Dalai Lama. it is a very easy read and really an excellent resource for a beginning buddhist. even if you just want to look into it i would reccommend reading this book.

Answer 7

i must admit, the buddhism you are talking amout is not the one im familiar with.
the buddhism i follow is full of love, self exploration and the search for self realisation (enlightenment)
buddhism teaches that this life we are living right now, are but one of a string of lives you have allready lived, or are going to live. in each life, and each death, you are supposed to learn lessons and realisations to get you break free of this endless cycle of death and rebirth.
unfortunately we are not born with the memory of our previous lives, and our basic selves are overshadowed by what is going on around us,the daily struggle to survive and put food on the table. that is why true gurus and swamis seperate themselves form the world and live in isolation, to give them proper time for introspection and meditation.
the one most profound thing that i've learnt from buddhism, is that everything you need to reach nirvana (heaven), is within you, you just need to take the time and effort to knuckle down and find it.
and by the way, buddha is not a god. he is a man who has realised the universal truths about the world and ourselves, and thus has reached enlightenment. any man can become a buddha if he reaches enlightenment.
when you see people pray at temples, they arent prayin to a god, their praying for assistance and advice from the buddhas up in heaven.
my advice to you, go to a temple, speak to one of the priests. they have lots of free literature that you can take along.
you will see that there is lots of smiles and lots of love to be had.

Answer 8

yea- a buddhist approached a hotdog vendor and said "please make me 1 with everything". On a serious note, to deny the "I" means to deny the existence of our false identity eg. ur address, colour of your eyes, your job, your name etc to find the original identity that defines who you really are or more simply the true identity you are before you take on an assumed one everytime you come back here.

Answer 9

Well, now you know. Buddhism is out of touch with reality. Once they smoke the pipe, they are at peace with their illusion. It never lasts for too long. Witness the Dalai Lama saying he would change Buddhism if science demanded it. Noone has taken him up on his offer. Nobody cares. The place where the media image "happy" Buddhists monks live and where Buddha created his atheistic doctrine rejecting God arguing from the existence of evil is now being lorded over by Communists. Once in a while, a "happy" monk burns himself up in sheer happiness over this fact. The Soviet Union was liberated but Tibet need Christ or atleast a Pope too to be free of its self-imposed illusory shackles. The communists swept into Tibet in 1950 after the massacre of Christian missionaries by "happy" Buddhists peaked the year before(1949).

Answer 10

I would like to learn more too!