Noah Levine "Spiritual Community"

[mrhorn2001]

we create world peace by our own peaceful behavior. if what i do has a cause and effect in the universe somewhere because i am in it. then my meditations in peaceful silence bring peace into this whole world through my mediatation on nothing (no thought).

[mrhorn2001]

that should be as valuable to you as any ambition... to have no thought. because it brings more peace into the world for you to be silent and quiet and still... with no thoughts.

just one more person not in conflict out there. one more in peace. it spreads.

[MaduTheImaginator]

I've been a Buddhist all my life. But it was more of a label than a practice. But by listening to you I have come to realized a lot about what i have been missing. Thanks Noah!

[drbocaj81yo]

@MaduTheImaginator YOU are a KNOCK!



[impermanentoo]

Good luck to you! The greatest lessons learn in life is be humble.Monks and nuns always help me as they say I do not behave like the rest.

When I work things are a lot easier compares to others and they wonder why?

[SiddharthaBuddha]

Nobody has better knowledge of how to practice spiritual growth, then the practitioner themself. Just because this is your practice, does not mean they should be mine. Those are my thoughts. Take them or leave them.

[SiddharthaBuddha]

The three jewels

-Buddha = Buddha mind and nature

-Dharma = The eightfold path

-Sangha = Buddhist community

[impermanentoo]

The three jewels should be:

1) Buddha - The enlightened one

2) Dhamma - Teaching / Truth

3) Sangha - Monk communities

May blessing of the triple gem be upon all!

[SiddharthaBuddha]

Lol pretty much the same thing. It's always open to personal interpretation anyway.

[impermanentoo]

It's our unwholesome kamma if we interpret the dhamma wrongly. If it gets to 100 people, you times it by 100. Does it sound scary, I'm trying to help, that's all.

[fabsternyc]

@impermanentoo no, it doesn't sound scary at all. The Buddha teachings need to be filtered through our own personal experience, which is different for each person. This doesn't dilute the teachings at all, if anything, it reinforces their powerful impact on a practitioner.

[fabsternyc]

It seems to me that you might be somewhat lost into dogmatic issues regarding Buddhism. Every religion and spiritual tradition has its dogma built over centuries of contributions by its followers. However, I have no doubt in my mind that the Buddha would be the first one to push all dogma to the side and just invite me to sit on the cushion once more as I start a new day.

[kobecat4]

@fabsternyc Well said .

[fabsternyc]

@impermanentoo The Shanga is not necessarily a monk community. There are millions and millions of lay practitioners that enrich the Shangas of the world every day

[impermanentoo]

@fabsternyc

Believe in what believe in and you're creating new kamma for yourself .

[fabsternyc]

@impermanentoo yes, I am. We create karma just by being alive and I am alive. I am however creating just the kind of karma I want to create in myself.

You think that your judgemental attitude here is not creating karma for you? ;)

[impermanentoo]

@fabsternyc

I'm not interested in judging as I'm not perfect and I'm still working hard to clear my deluded mind.

[impermanentoo]

No, I'm sorry, imagine every generation changes a little, what does it become?

This is to preserve our religion in it's original form. That's very important when it comes to truth.

'Buddhist community' is definitely not 'monk community". Would you want your children to learn a religion that is different from yours?

[SiddharthaBuddha]

Except the Buddha taught

"Believe nothing, no matter where you have read it, or who has said it, not even if I have said it. Unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.

I see sangha as buddhist community, I see Buddha as Buddha nature, not worshipping some dead person. And I see Dharma as the 8 fold path. I do hope my children practice a different Buddhism then the Buddhism of today, because all things must change. We must not cling to teachings or ideals.

[impermanentoo]

Buddha did not say you can change his teaching. You're the one who has to face the consequences and no one else. I told you out of good intention. If you do not except it, It's fine with me.

On Kalama Sutta, Buddha was referring to the teaching that the Kalama resident heard. As the teaching was pertaining to falsehood, so Buddha gave them that advice.

Unless you've meditate base on Satipatana sutta, you'll not be able to see the ultimate truth. It's like scratching the earth surface.

[SiddharthaBuddha]

What you're trying to say is that Buddha taught non-attachment, and non-clinging to views, however he suggested that we cling to his? The previous quote shows that Buddhism can be interpreted in many different ways. The world and society is changing, so must our views and practice, otherwise surely Buddhism will crumble. ALL THINGS must evolve. I am not a slave to a strict dogma, I practice with my own knowledge, my own awareness. I learn based on my experience. I believe this is the best way.

[fabsternyc]

Buddhism has always been about adapting to the different cultures and times. Once from Northern India it reached China, it certainly changed. Tibetan Buddhism is quite different from Buddha's original (assumed) version (oral tradition made it to writing only centuries after the Buddha was alive), Chen, and later Zen in Japan, are again quite different, similarly to Korean Zen.

[fabsternyc]

So who is right? only one? nobody? all of them? Tibetan Buddhism works perfectly well for Tibet, just as Zen works perfectly well for the Japanese culture. In the west, we had the luck of being exposed eventually to all these traditions and can practice the one we feel more relevant to us. And again, we will adapt it as Westerners with a different history and background.

[fabsternyc]

Maybe that scares you, but I find this adaptability to be a real strenght of Buddhism and I honestly believe it is the Western rivisitation of the Eastern traditions that will give a new impulse to our spiritual practice. Let go of every preconceived ideas, always.

[kikikilly]

angry,diffcult reality we live in...reality is

[mayaluvsmusic]

I've heard many of this guys talks he's cool as hell man.

[kikikilly]

One of the cool things about this is..we all including myself relate to charismatic people more and assume thats what spirituality looks like the I of spirit(not spirit itself) likes confidence,the I of spirit likes good looks,the I of spirit likes a person with personality .What the i of spirit fails to see is the spirit. the spirit we so desperately search for within ourselves and outside ourselves which is and always has been right now it is soo simple and recognizable that we often miss it

[lordburzum]

Shut up Already !!!!!! jeez !!!

[Garuda82]

Wow

Thanks for pointing that. May be i do not understand if is pointed in a peyorative way but your comment helped me to show how my mind descriminate what or who "believe is not that spiritual"

Thanks