Topic awaiting preservation: buddhists?

are there any buddhist's here?? i SO want to be a buddhist (i've googled til i can't google any more) and i can't get any place to reply to emails i've sent.
i want to know....is there anything you have to do to 'convert' to buddhism?? any info/help is greatly appreciated!!

Anything you have to do? Ummm...nope. However, you might wish to perview the various books and teachings...and start following the principles of Buddhism...and that's all.

If you really wish to get very heavily into the religion, then I would suggest you visit a temple, and seek out the guidance of a Teacher.


WebShaman

well...i've been practicing it as much as possible without knowing anything lol....
i've looked at books...but i really don't want to spend money on a book until i know it can help me....with buddhism, there's several different books based on each 'regional subreligion'? there's several different types of buddhism....i don't even know which one i'd pick.... i guess i'd want the standard "don't step on that bug it could be your aunt" one lol
i would love to visit a temple ws...but i'm afraid there aren't any even remotely close to me.....
i figured i'd ask here since there's such a variety of people that visit here.

whereas you can live according to the tenets you have discovered in your reading, joining a church/temple/group will help you in your understanding...

[edit: as has been pointed out in other threads, there are many paths up the mountain and with the buddhists, these paths are defined by the sutras - which are just what the buddha had to say on a particular day
the group i joined for instance, focuses on the Nirvana Sutra which is what the Buddha had to say on his last day on earth. [/edit]

[edit2: fix link

[This message has been edited by velvetrose (edited 03-03-2003).]

Have you tried Buddhanet?

Maybe look around for some forums on Buddhism...like this one.

[This message has been edited by WebShaman (edited 03-03-2003).]

Lacuna: Come to Korea and I'll hand you over to the monks at one of our many remote mountain temples. They'll fix you up good.

Seriously, though, there are many different sects of Buddhism. Some focus on study, some focus on meditation, some focus on practice. You'd probably want to try one of the practice-centered sects, I'd imagine.

As WS pointed out, Buddhanet is a good resource. I use that for all my Buddhism-related needs.

wonderful! thank you guys for the links!!!!
velvetrose: i don't know why (because i'm stupid lol) i didn't think of searching alaska+buddhism....thanks for that

suho...i should have went to see you when i was in korea!!! i'm kicking myself for it now lol

Hehe... you and your son are always welcome if you ever find yourself stopping over here again.

i can't help but giggle at the mental images that "buddhanet" creates

Thanks, Fig. Now you've got me giggling too. How am I supposed to get any work done now?

wanders off down the hall, giggling uncontrollably

Lacuna>>Just out of curiosity, when you say I want to be a Budhist what do you mean? Can't you just be a Budhist without going off to some temple?

moth, i just didn't know if there was something you had to do to convert. some religions make you do things when you convert...like taking lessons or something.

You just need to believe. Follow the tenants of the faith...that makes you X.

Interesting thing with Buddhism...I just saw a documentary on it last night...the original scrolls of The Buddha still exist! There are over 300 books, that are over 1000 years old...incredible! That makes these original texts (from the Buddha's hand) older than existing Biblical texts...with the possible exception of the Dead Sea scrolls, that is...

Coolness...the German camera team was able to film it all...with the permission of the Dali Lama. The docu was just coolness pure!

Ah, I see.


Pretty cool about the original texts still being in existance. What was the name of the documentary? I hope they show it here in the US.

The sound of one hand clapping is "cl."

Does Buddhism have a leader? Seriously, I don't know.

Roman Catholics have the pope.
Many protestant denomonations have leadership of some sort, mostly in the forms of councils of various sorts.
Some protestant sects are very independent, with leadership only extending to the local church.

I am totally unknowledgable about the leadership of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists or Hindus.
Is the Dali Lama spiritual leader of Buddhists? roughly equivelent to the Pope, or different? What is the Dali Lama's role in Buddhism?
Do Jews, Hindus or Buddhists have sects, or denominations, like one finds in Christianity and Islam?

Interesting I've never thought of these things before.

Well the leader if Buddhism would be Buddha if anyone.
Buddihsm is both a philosohy and a religon.
If you belive in buddhism as philosophy. You
follow the principals of Sidharta Gautama
which was buddhas name before he reached nirvana.

If you belive in Buddhism as a religon then you think
that because Buddha were so wise and reached nirvana
he must me godlike.

One of the philos. 'group' is called zen-buddhism. Its thought
that through performing perfect tehnique of an martial art you
will reach nirvana. And while meditating you clear your mind
by mumbling some impossible riddles. While 'performing' zen-
buddhism you can read of any of the excisting holy texts (bible, torah).

Lamaism is a whole other branch. It excist mostly in india.
There a hirachies like nobb-lama intermediate-lama and big kahuna-lama (not those names though).
Dalia Lama is reikarnated and is supposed to be reborn as a boy within the lamaism religon.

Some branches belive that you're reinkarnated but some belive that only you're karma is reborn. So if you do bad
things someone else will get that when they get born.

This is all I remember from my religonclass. I think it's
correct but if it's not, correct me! Hopefully it will fill in some gaps!

Buddha said to learn to be content with anything and everything. Accomplishing that will take the rest of your life. Enjoy.

Hmmm...thanks. Just to make sure I have this straight, can we do a little SAT style analogies?
(Don't try to dig too deeply into this, I'm going for the general overview...the 3rd grade version)

Jesus is to Christianity as Buddha (aka Sidharta Gautama) is to Buddhism?
Zen and Lamaism are to Buddhism as Presbyterians and Roman Catholics are to Christianity?
The Dalai Lama, the intermediate lama and the nobb lama are to Lamaism as Bishops, Cardinals and the Pope are to Catholocism?

Did I get that right?
By the way, is Dalai Lama a name or a title?
Like, could you have Dalai Lama Henry and Dalai Lama John or is it simply that John changes his name to Dalai Lama when they figure out that's who it is?

I'm learning something new everyday.

jesus is god to christians, but the buddha is *not* a god to buddhists.

^ Yep. That's the difference...Buddha was only a teacher, not a God-like being (or son of one)...he is not a Messiah.

Also, Buddha actually wrote his teachings, whereas Jesus did not.

I believe the Dali Lama is a title, much in the way that the Pope is a title. However, the way that one arrives at this, is somewhat different.

One is the Dali Lama...to become the Pope, one must be selected. Though in truth, the Dali Lama is also selected...

quote:

---

the Dali Lama is also selected...

---

i think the word used is "recognized", rather than selected



[This message has been edited by velvetrose (edited 03-06-2003).]

Yes, that's right. He's pretty much born the Dalai Lama, and then someone has to recognize that it's actually him...

Yup. But who does the 'recognizing'?...that's the selection part...

Though it is much different, than the selection process for the Pope...

[This message has been edited by WebShaman (edited 03-07-2003).]