Zen Buddhism (and all other religions/belief systems) -

[Sanic]

First of all, I'd like to start by saying by sharing this, I'm sharing a big part of myself I used to ashamed of. I would always hesitate to share my beliefs with others because I was afraid of what they'd think. The reason I'm finally starting this is because of unhappy many people here seem. I suffered with heavy depression and social anxiety for a long time now. But now I'm happy.

And no, it is not because of the weed. = p

Let me start by saying I learned all these things while sober, I'm a Teaching Assistant for Buddhism in real life and have explained many concepts to students over the past year to hone my teaching ability. They all said they really understood it when I taught them. It made me happy.

It's a nice feeling to be happy, taking every moment life gives you and experiencing it at it's fullest. No regrets of the past, no worrying about the future. Just right now, this moment.

I'll start by talking about Koan. A Koan is a "Question". We, ourselves, should always have a question. For Zen Buddhism, you yourself should start with a question about your life. But in a question about your life, you should have a question about your death.

That is the study of Buddhism, the study of life and death.

Now that the serious stuff is over, feel free to post your life experiences, what you think makes you truly happy in life. We can use science, philosophy, and religion in this thread as freely as possible. If you disagree with me, I'm 100% okay with it and would never hold it against you. Or if you have some questions about Zen, I'll answer them to the best of my ability. If I cannot give an answer, I'll be the first to admit I'm nothing more than a student.

Oh, and I do not think I'm Enlightened, not in the slightest. In fact, I may be farther away from it than all of you. Remember, don't always believe what I say. I could very well be wrong.

 

[RobeeSonee]

There's a moment after a trying day where fast food doesn't just hit my hunger, but () my hugbox/feels/center. I don't have an eating disorder; I'm far too picky. Its a kind of sublime happiness, and it only lasts a few bites/sips of soda. Its not the same as being stoned, as being stoned is to be high. This is definitely a feeling of centeredness and balance, and I've never smoked for balance.

I guess my point is, I feel like a terrible sort of sorta-Bhuddist because I derive such tranquility from something so material a sensation.

As a fellow stoner, how do you reconcile the need for a sensation/desire with something that you should shun to attain enlightenment? Sometimes I think "well, this is very materialistic Mister-Holier-than-Thou." And yet, isn't that kind of paradox the point of Zen? I'm asking, srsly.

 

[Yawning Bulbasaur]

Dealing with depression and social anxiety as well right now, as well as family drama bullshit with my dad and stepmom (the latter of whom tries to look for every reason to discredit my condition even though I already received a formal diagnosis when I was still going to uni, and I definitely think she herself has narcissistic personality disorder)

At least my relationship with my mom is still much healthier and amiable, go to her house every other night to smoke weed with her

Since I'm starting to educate myself more about Buddhism in general, I always bring my Buddhism for Dummies book with me to mom's house every time, but then end up not reading it due to my already short attention span, which the weed just makes even worse

 

[Sanic]

There's a moment after a trying day where fast food doesn't just hit my hunger, but () my hugbox/feels/center. I don't have an eating disorder; I'm far too picky. Its a kind of sublime happiness, and it only lasts a few bites/sips of soda. Its not the same as being stoned, as being stoned is to be high. This is definitely a feeling of centeredness and balance, and I've never smoked for balance.

I guess my point is, I feel like a terrible sort of sorta-Bhuddist because I derive such tranquility from something so material a sensation.

As a fellow stoner, how do you reconcile the need for a sensation/desire with something that you should shun to attain enlightenment? Sometimes I think "well, this is very materialistic Mister-Holier-than-Thou." And yet, isn't that kind of paradox the point of Zen? I'm asking, srsly.

A very good question. I get the same feeling from Weed. It's nothing wrong, but it's something you can't rely on, so to say. The main goal of Buddhism is to end suffering. To do that, on the sheer basics level, you have to learn to embrace everything around you at the moment (weed, food, etc.) but remember it's only temporal and will go away. That's another reason why we suffer, because material things in life give us this great feeling, but they'll inevitably fade into death. Buddhism is more of accepting life as it is, being happy with just living as you are now. What you're doing isn't wrong in the slightest, but to feel content at all times, you gotta learn to let go of external happiness factors (hope that one makes sense).

 

[Sanic]

Dealing with depression and social anxiety as well right now, as well as family drama bullshit with my dad and stepmom (the latter of whom tries to look for every reason to discredit my condition even though I already received a formal diagnosis when I was still going to uni, and I definitely think she herself has narcissistic personality disorder)

At least my relationship with my mom is still much healthier and amiable, go to her house every other night to smoke weed with her

Since I'm starting to educate myself more about Buddhism in general, I always bring my Buddhism for Dummies book with me to mom's house every time, but then end up not reading it due to my already short attention span, which the weed just makes even worse

I feel ya, man. My dad used to be a complete hardass and I always hated him until a little bit ago. It's hard to learn to detach from things when they're right up in your face. Very difficult. I haven't been able to get over social anxiety completely, myself. It's a feeling that appears, but I have to try and focus elsewhere. Mind over body is another very common Buddhist teaching. Go with your mind first, focus on what you have to do and in a way, you can tune out anxiety. I've done it, never fully, but I've gotten it to a minimal before to point where I can function in public perfectly. Don't attach to the anxiety feeling. If you only have your mind focus in one area, your activity is undivided.

Now, what does weed do? I'll admit, it has one great quality that helps beginners with meditation. It can get you single minded and hyper focused. I used to only meditate while high, but gradually have fazed it out. Used to need 2 bowls, now I can do it without (harder though, no doubt). Meditation doesn't have to be sitting in a position either. One school of Buddhism has a moving meditation, where they hustle outside in the cold.

Now, what does getting hyper focused and single minded do in meditation? It helps you experience the object of your thought to the fullest. Whether your focus is an apple, a story, your life, God, etc. Being singularly focused on something can lead to a deeper understanding. At least this is so with my personal experience.

 

[Sanic]

Now, I'll add one more post for now. When he was Enlightened, the historical Buddha said he had found the Middle Way. He talked about it at the end of his first sermon. What is the Middle Way? It's everything Buddhism is in two words. It means to not attach to either extreme. Always take the middle path in your life at every moment. Don't attach to your life, don't attach to your death. Don't attach to the past, don't attach to the future. There is only right now to live and to realize cessation from suffering, you can't worry about such things. It will only cause pain eventually. This does not mean be adverse to change. You have to embrace change, realize everything is temporal in this world, but enjoy yourself in the moment. Once the fun goes away, you won't care, because you're detached from it and only remember the past as a great time, with no longing for such an experience in the future. This is the Middle Way, avoiding two extremes.

 

[RobeeSonee]

A very good question. I get the same feeling from Weed. It's nothing wrong, but it's something you can't rely on, so to say. The main goal of Buddhism is to end suffering. To do that, on the sheer basics level, you have to learn to embrace everything around you at the moment (weed, food, etc.) but remember it's only temporal and will go away. That's another reason why we suffer, because material things in life give us this great feeling, but they'll inevitably fade into death. Buddhism is more of accepting life as it is, being happy with just living as you are now. What you're doing isn't wrong in the slightest, but to feel content at all times, you gotta learn to let go of external happiness factors (hope that one makes sense).

Now, I'll add one more post for now. When he was Enlightened, the historical Buddha said he had found the Middle Way. He talked about it at the end of his first sermon. What is the Middle Way? It's everything Buddhism is in two words. It means to not attach to either extreme. Always take the middle path in your life at every moment. Don't attach to your life, don't attach to your death. Don't attach to the past, don't attach to the future. There is only right now to live and to realize cessation from suffering, you can't worry about such things. It will only cause pain eventually. This does not mean be adverse to change. You have to embrace change, realize everything is temporal in this world, but enjoy yourself in the moment. Once the fun goes away, you won't care, because you're detached from it and only remember the past as a great time, with no longing for such an experience in the future. This is the Middle Way, avoiding two extremes.

Then it seems to me that either in this day and age, or at this point in my life, enlightenment is unattainable. Or perhaps, enlightenment is simply an ideal to strive towards rather than an end state. But I suppose the Middle Way sums that up perfectly.

 

[Sanic]

Then it seems to me that either in this day and age, or at this point in my life, enlightenment is unattainable. Or perhaps, enlightenment is simply an ideal to strive towards rather than an end state. But I suppose the Middle Way sums that up perfectly.

Very good. You always strive for Enlightenment. What you're wrong about though is that Enlightenment is unattainable. It most certainly is.

"You're already an Enlightened Buddha and do not even realize it."

This idea is very apparent in the many schools of Mahayana Buddhism, counting the Zen school. Enlightened means "Awakened" in Sanskrit. We all have Buddha Nature, every one of us (a rock, a tree, a dog, people, etc.). The only difference between the historical Buddha and us is that he was, "Awakened", he had become aware. We're all Buddha, we just don't actualize it. That's mankind's problem. A perfect Buddha is a dog. Why? A dog does what a dog does best. By being true to it's nature, the dog is Buddha. We, as men, have much more trouble finding our true nature. Buddhism is about uncovering the nature of man.

 

[ToroidalBoat]

Sanic, have you heard of Pure Land Buddhism? It's popular in eastern Asia.

 

[Sanic]

Sanic, have you heard of Pure Land Buddhism? It's popular in eastern Asia.

Yes, I've studied it alongside Zen. Master Dogen and Shinran lived very close to the same time period. The beauty of Pureland Buddhism is only equal to that from Christianity, in my opinion. To give yourself up to a higher power. It's a very powerful devotion people can have. I'm not talking about idiot Christians, btw, I mean at the religious core of the texts.

 

[Sanic]

Since I'm here, I'll link a video to reflect on. It's not just the words, it is the way the man says it. This quote is from the Indian Sanskrit text called, "Bhagavad Gita". It is an epic written during India's medieval period. Though it is not Zen Buddhism, the text connects with Zen at a very unexpected level. This video is of J. Robert Oppenheimer, who worked on the Manhattan Project. It's only 53 seconds long and in my opinion, life changing. Please give it a watch.

 

[wheat pasta]

I like this thread, thank you for creating it. I've been interested in Buddhism and Zen concepts for quite some time, but I don't think I would be very good at practicing it because I can tend to be a bit of a materialist and I get frustrated with people easily. Do you have any advice for me on how to improve those aspects of myself or at least find balance with them?

 

[Sanic]

I like this thread, thank you for creating it. I've been interested in Buddhism and Zen concepts for quite some time, but I don't think I would be very good at practicing it because I can tend to be a bit of a materialist and I get frustrated with people easily. Do you have any advice for me on how to improve those aspects of myself or at least find balance with them?

The only real way to understand Buddhism is practice (constantly, at every moment of your life). What I always do is say, "What is the best choice I can make to benefit other people?". For example, a friend of my mother's died and now his wife is a widow. Today, I decided to be late for class to shovel her driveway out for her. My grade may be lower, but it was the right thing to do.

Of course, there are much more fun things to do than going out of the way to help people. Play video games, post on the Kiwi all day, etc. We all love to do these things (or something of the equivalent). But, what made me find inner peace finally was letting go of attachments, living in the moment (this is undivided activity). Living with each moment birthing and dying in an instant, but only focusing on the current moment of our experience.We die every moment, we're born every moment. The old us comes crashing down when our world changes. We're reborn a new. The moment my grandmother died was a death for myself; my world. It was changed. I no longer had a world where my grandmother was living with me.

Change is a constant. We must learn to embrace it and forsake attaching to temporal things. This does not mean don't remember the past or plan ahead for your future, but not to hold onto such thoughts so tightly that it causes pain.

The only thing that is different from the historical Buddha and us is that his world was changed and he achieved human nature at it's core.

---------

Next I'll probably talk about two sermons the Buddha gave that may help everyone out. Also, there are some passages from the Bhagavad Gita I want to share with any interested.

 

[Sanic]

Time for another Buddhist thingy.

After the historical Buddha was Enlightened (Awakened), he was approached by 5 of his friends. They asked Buddha what he had gotten from Enlightenment.

Buddha hesitated to speak.

Why did he hesitate about sharing his Enlightenment experience? I think the answer can be found in a poem Buddha wrote while on his deathbed. Buddha felt he had said so much in his 49 years of teaching, yet he could never truly explain what he wanted to say.

 

[Eldritch]

I became buddhist not too long ago. I was just atheist after being sort of disillusioned with christianity. I've gone to the Tibetan monastery in Bloomington, IN a few times for meditation sessions, but I've never really been to a teaching.
My use of this website pretty much verifies I'm not very enlightened, though.

 

[Yog-Spergoth]

Time for another Buddhist thingy.

After the historical Buddha was Enlightened (Awakened), he was approached by 5 of his friends. They asked Buddha what he had gotten from Enlightenment.

Buddha hesitated to speak.

Why did he hesitate about sharing his Enlightenment experience? I think the answer can be found in a poem Buddha wrote while on his deathbed. Buddha felt he had said so much in his 49 years of teaching, yet he could never truly explain what he wanted to say.

Before enlightenment, fetch wood, carry water.
After enlightenment, fetch wood, carry water.

 

[Sanic]

Time for another Buddhist thingy.

After the historical Buddha was Enlightened (Awakened), he was approached by 5 of his friends. They asked Buddha what he had gotten from Enlightenment.

Buddha hesitated to speak.

Why did he hesitate about sharing his Enlightenment experience? I think the answer can be found in a poem Buddha wrote while on his deathbed. Buddha felt he had said so much in his 49 years of teaching, yet he could never truly explain what he wanted to say.

The answer I have for this that Buddha and his disciples were both from different worlds. The Buddha in a world of silence, the world of God, rocks, trees, rivers. His disciples in a world of oral language and the written word. Buddha was in Non-dualism, internally. His disciples were in dualism.

Eastern thought is very non-dualistic, hence the best way to approach Buddhism, as it was philosophically centered in non-dualism to begin with.

Next post I'll decribe Essence and Function. Ti Yung. This is non-dualistic philosophy at it's core.

 

[Alex Krycek]

I've studied Zen a little due to my interest in Taoism, but I regularly attend a Theravada meditation center (Monks are there on Saturday) for my own enjoyment. I like Theravada and feel like I could potentially convert.

 

[Sanic]

I know I said I would post something about Essence and Function next, but things change. That's one truth about life; impermanence.

Once you have fully accepted and believe that life is suffering and impermanent, you're free from it. Cessation from suffering is actualization of these truths. These are the Four Noble Truths.

1. Suffering (Dukkha)
2. Suffering is caused by attachment/desire to impermanent things.
3. We must liberate ourselves from suffering.
4. Here is how to do so (The Eightfold Path).

One story of the historical Buddha tells of his disciple telling him that the 2nd Truth and 3rd Truth were the same. The Buddha declared him Enlightened ("Awakened").

 

[WeedFaggot024]

I can't add much, Mainly because i'm just reading. But they're very insightful to someone who never really thought Meditation was real (iknorite)