Buddhism FAQ

Hwy99 · Feb 11, 2008

Since some of Aders have been wanting me to create a thread about Buddhism, so I am going to create the thread with my own FAQ about Buddhism with the source provide. I am going to start off with "Who and What is Buddha?".

Note: Purple fonts are my own word and any text that are in quote box are from other link.

Who and What is Buddha?

Two answer for this, one answer would be "The Awakening One" which mean a person are full enlightmented. Other answer would be Siddhartha Gautama, which are the real name for Buddha. In the note, Siddhartha Gautama are not the only one who are Buddha.

Siddhartha Gautama (from now on I would just say "Gautama") was born in India, Gautama was used to be a prince and also was used to be a Hindu, his parents refuse to let him see anything that are reality which when people suffer like sick, becoming old, war, fighting, crimes, etc. for whole his childhood till he was about 20ish age, he finally see the reality and he decide to leave being a prince, also reject the Hinduism religion, and left his hometown and teaching many thousands of people about the suffering, helping people to be happy, traveling all around central eastern Asia by only his barefoot.

Usually Buddha ("Awakened One," from the root bodhi) refers to Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama), the historical founder of Buddhism, who adopted that title. He is sometimes referred to as Sakyamuni or Buddha Gautama (Sanskrit; Pali: Buddha Gotama) in order to distinguish him from other Buddhas (cf. buddhahood, enlightenment, nirvana). For perspectives by other religions of Siddhārtha Gautama, see Buddha (other religions) and Buddha from the Hindu perspective.

All forms of Buddhism acknowledge the existence of other Buddhas. The Pali canon recognizes twenty-eight Buddhas of the past, as well as Maitreya (Sanskrit; Pali: Metteya), the Buddha who is yet to come. Mahāyāna tradition teaches the existence of Buddhas and bodhisattvas without number. An example of the former would be Amitabha.

Buddha - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Also for the life of Siddhartha Gautama, here' s a link about the story of Siddhartha Gautama, I don't want to copy and paste because the story seems longer than my answer.

Gautama Buddha - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Any more questions? Please keep this thread going, and I will try answer your questions as best as I can

XBGMER · Feb 11, 2008

Does Buddha believe the reincarnation?

Hwy99 · Feb 11, 2008

XBGMER said:
Does Buddha believe the reincarnation?

Yes or goes to Nirvana (heaven). As long as we do believe the soul do exist inside our body, and we believe it's impossible for the soul to be disappeared at the same time the body died because we see the bodies just like the clothes, so our soul might stay on the Earth relocating to new body. Or maybe some of us might became full enlightemented, we don't have to stay at the Earth, we go to Nirvana.

The Buddha said of death:

Life is a journey.
Death is a return to earth.
The universe is like an inn.
The passing years are like dust.

Regard this phantom world
As a star at dawn, a bubble in a stream,
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp - a phantom - and a dream. {1}

According to Buddhism, after death one is either reborn into another body (reincarnated) or enters nirvana. Only Buddhas - those who have attained enlightenment - will achieve the latter destination.

Reincarnation (Transmigration)
Based on his no-soul (anatta) doctrine, the Buddha described reincarnation, or the taking on of a new body in the next life, in a different way than the traditional Indian understanding. He compared it to lighting successive candles using the flame of the preceding candle. Although each flame is causally connected to the one that came before it, is it not the same flame. Thus, in Buddhism, reincarnation is usually referred to as "transmigration."

Nirvana
Nirvana is the state of final liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. It is also therefore the end of suffering. The literal meaning of the word is "to extinguish," in the way that a fire goes out when it runs out of fuel. In the Surangama, the Buddha describes Nirvana as the place in which

it is recognized that there is nothing but what is seen of the mind itself; where, recognizing the nature of the self-mind, one no longer cherishes the dualisms of discrimination; where there is no more thirst nor grasping; where there is no more attachment to external things.
But all these descriptions only tell us what is not Nirvana. What is it like? Is it like heaven, or is it non-existence? The answer is not clear, due in large part to the Buddha's aversion to metaphysics and speculation. When he was asked such questions, he merely replied that it was "incomprehensible, indescribable, inconceivable, unutterable."

References
Vairacchedika 32.

Reincarnation and Afterlife in Buddhism - ReligionFacts

Any further question, don't be hassle to ask me

jillio · Feb 11, 2008

No questions, but thanks for posting a different viewpoint of religion. We have a few professors on campus who are Buddhists, and I find their perspectives to be facinating.

Hwy99 · Feb 11, 2008

jillio said:
No questions, but thanks for posting a different viewpoint of religion. We have a few professors on campus who are Buddhists, and I find their perspectives to be facinating.

No problemo

Yupp many religion are very interesting, I agree.

Liebling:-))) · Feb 12, 2008

http://www.alldeaf.com/christianity-religion-spiritual-other-beliefs/40381-buddhism.html

http://www.alldeaf.com/christianity...s/21647-buddhism-anyone-here-who-follows.html

Check my posts in 2 different threads.

Hwy99 · Feb 12, 2008

Liebling:-))) said:
http://www.alldeaf.com/christianity-religion-spiritual-other-beliefs/40381-buddhism.html

http://www.alldeaf.com/christianity...s/21647-buddhism-anyone-here-who-follows.html

Check my posts in 2 different threads.

I hope you don't mind if I take your post to here so that I can answer your question, while Kurifje75 already answer most of your question, but I want to answer your question too

Liebling:-))) said:
Good thread here. I know a little about Buddhism but I would like to learn something more about them. I’m a neutral person and like to collect every belief. I would like to ask you some questions in my post. I hope my question is okay with you.

Learning always fun

I hope you share your knowledge here with us why they are not allowing etc. Why they have different belief etc. Let me tell you what I know.

My German hubby saw Indians shopping and saris for a first time in 1983 when he was in England to visit me. It fascinates him.

I was raised in England to involve with Indians, Chinese, etc and went school with them & also work together with them, too. I learn their interesting culture and meet their families etc – their mothers wear sari and fathers wear tiara (sp) – I remember they are not allow to cut their hair off. The parents choose husband or wife to marry their children. They explained us what the God status with 8 arms is… work, living, sense, ??? I can’t remember any further… I wish to turn clock back to learn MORE about their belief. I was young, that’s time until we visited Singapore… Oh my God… Its fantastic culture which different than I know them in England. I know now it’s Buddha belief…

I am afraid it's not Buddhism... It's Hinduism. There are lot of Buddhism monks had bald head, they shave all hairs off because they represent it as leaving out of the confuse.

I remember when we visited Little India near Chinatown in Singapore in 2000. Indian culture fascinates us due their beautiful colors, etc. I love to see people wear sari. It fascinates me.

We visited 2 Hindu Temples. We saw Buddha statue there.
If we want go in temples then we have to remove our shoes and leave them outside… I remember the note telling us those women who have monthly cycle is not allowed to go in the temple…Why?

Again, that's not Buddhism, that's Hinduism. You might be surprised, Siddhartha Gautama are also one of Hinduism's multi-gods.

Gautama Buddha is mentioned as an Avatar of Vishnu in the Puranic texts of Hinduism.[1] In the Bhagavata Purana he is twenty fourth of twenty five avatars, prefiguring a forthcoming final incarnation. A number of Hindu traditions portray Buddha as the most recent of ten principal avatars, known as the "Dasavatara" (Ten Incarnations of God).

Siddhartha Gautama's teachings deny the authority of the Vedas and consequently [at least atheistic] Buddhism is generally viewed as a nāstika school (heterodox, literally "It is not so"[2]) from the perspective of orthodox Hinduism.

However, while He was against the authority of the Vedas, he might not have been against the Vedas themself. Buddhist scholar Rahula Vipola wrote that the Buddha was trying to shed the true meaning of the Vedas. Buddha is said to be a knower of the Veda (vedajña) or of the Vedanta (vedântajña) (Sa.myutta, i. 168) and (Sutta Nipâta, 463).

Gautama Buddha in religions other than Buddhism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

But myself, personally, don't believe Buddha was a god like Hinduism.

I must tell you that Singapore is unforgettable and amazing culture especially temples. It’s sad to tell you that a short vacation (one week) in Singapore is not enough because their culture is fantastic and much to see. We would love to go Singapore again in the future. My children are heartbreak to leave Singapore… They are still talking about Singapore. It look like that Culture of Singapore fascinates them. I have to agree with them. We would LOVE to go Thailand one day since my hubby described us how fantastic temples where he went there before we met and married.

We saw Chinese temple in Kusu Island, Temple of 1,000 lights – 15 meter high figure of Buddha surrounded by chains of light and Merlin Statue, Dragon temple etc in Sentosa Island.

Why are the Dragons important to Buddhism? What special about them? It look like that they don’t believe Jesus? Right?

Believe it or not, Buddhism might believe Jesus do exist and we might see him as other "Buddha". We are much less "Anti-Christ" than you might thought.

Traditionally, Buddhists as a group take no particular view on Jesus. However, recent historical findings and greater availability of translated Buddhist texts indicate possible influence on many of the major teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. Scholars have always noted the great many similarities between the life and teachings of Gautam Buddha and Jesus. These similarities might be attributed to Buddhist missionaries sent as early as Emperor Ashoka around 250 B.C.E. in many of the Greek Seleucid kingdoms that existed then and then later became the same regions that Christianity began. [13] To the extent that Buddhists and Christians were exposed to each other, individual Buddhists may have had positive or negative impressions of Jesus depending on their individual inclinations. In the modern era, as Buddhist-Christian contact increased dramatically (the Dalai Lama and the Pope have met frequently in the past decade), several Buddhist writers have tried to come to grips with the concept of Jesus. Some have gone so far as to describe him as a bodhisattva, a being committed to the redemption of all life.[citation needed] Specifically, comparisons are sometimes drawn between Jesus and Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Others see parallels between Avalokiteśvara (who is sometimes portrayed as male and sometimes as female) and the Virgin Mary.

Religious perspectives on Jesus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One thing I’m disagreeing is the parents choose husband and wife to marry their children. I remember to receive the story from my German friend who visits India years ago. He met deaf Indian couple and become good friend with them. He got them to tell him the story. Their parents disapproved their love and choose hearing partners to marry them. Their love is stronger and runaway together from their parents to start new life. They married with bless from neutral priest and produced a baby girl together.

We met deaf Singaporean who set his own photo business in Singapore. We talked little about Buddha… He said that he & his wife are very lucky to have their parents who let them to choose their partner they want to marry. Their parents bless their children’s wish. They are happily married and have a baby boy.

Tell me what you think?
Why the parents choose the partners to marry their children?

Honestly I wish to believe reincarnation but I still have my doubt either it’s really true or not like what I say about bible in other thread.

Being really honestly, I think you misunderstood this by Hinduism because Buddhism don't require parents to choose which one to marry their children. Big example are many countries in East and Southeast Asia where millions of people are Buddhist there, they don't require parents to choose who to marry their children.

While Buddhism neither encourages nor discourages marriage, it does offer some guidelines for it. While Buddhist practice varies considerably among its various schools, marriage is one of the few concepts specifically mentioned in the context of Sila (Buddhist behavior discipline). The fundamental code of Buddhist ethics, the Pancasila (or five precepts), contains an admonishment of sexual misconduct, though what constitutes such misconduct from a Buddhist perspective varies widely depending on the local culture.

The Digha Nikaya 31 (Sigalovada Sutta) describes the respect that one is expected to give to one's spouse.

Buddhist view of marriage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I personally, believe the marriage is not a BIG necessary.

Something about reincarnation and Karma, I would like to ask you bit more. I saw the document about Dalai Lama on the TV last year. I witness kind of life they lead. I NEVER forget what I saw with my own eyes is Tibetans belief (they are part of Buddhist lamas).

They don’t believe funeral and cremation. The men cut corpse off and give them to vultures to eat. When it’s over then the corpse remains were remove for bones. I remember to see the women wash to rid of flesh to clean corpse’s bones and then crash/stomp them with a large rock to make them into powder. I don’t know why they need corpse’s bones for. All what I saw is they throw flesh remains again to birds eat after finish with bones and “decorate” part of bones in their room. This is a point of Buddhist’s view. Is it something do with Karma or reincarnation? I remember Dali’s explanation that he rather to enter corpses, flesh, bones etc to keep their own personalities and memories. What’s that? Is it Karma what he mean? Why they don’t believe funeral, cremation, organ donation?

Karma mean is give something away and then return something back to me. Right? Example: I donate money to orphan homes then I get something nice in return. Correct? I tried to study what Karma is. If I steal money and then get something bad in return. Correct? If yes, then yes, I beleive Karma.

Karma are one of our famous beliefs, it's not uncommon

About the reincarination, yes we do believe in reincarination, but for myself, I don't actually believe in it, just have the faith for it that's all.

Also about the funeral you talked about the Tibetan Buddhism, well that is Tibetan Buddhism, their kind of Buddhism are different than many of Buddhism and myself had pretty less knowledge about Tibetan Buddhism because I am more Theravada Buddhism which are alittle similar to Mahayana Buddhism, but anyway, I believe there are most Buddhists do funeral, example, Shinto Buddhism, a family tend to create their own little temple with the picture of a person who died, having the incesne around inside the temple, also the candles, etc.

I found some good link for you to read, this one are about Japan (Mahayana Buddhism) and Tibetan Buddhism.

Buddhist Ceremonies and Funeral Rites for the Dead

This one explain about my Theravada Buddhism, including other Buddhisms.

Rituals in Buddhism: Buddhist Funeral Rites

Also about the little temple in Shinto Buddhism (Japan's Buddhism) I talked about, I seems can't find picture for that kind of temple, but if you watch Japanese's movies, especially those scary movies, you usually will notice there's a small temple for a person who died inside the house. A movie I would recommend, Ju-On which have the part when a dead people come out of that little temple to attack a teenager girl till the final of that part, a dead girl grab the teenager girl into the small temple and disappeared.

Anyway, by the way, thank you for sharing your experience around Southeast Asia! It make me really want to go there!

KarissaMann05 · Feb 16, 2008

Random Questions

What are their thoughts on rightness and wrongness or veiw it as nature?

What is Buddhism's thought on homosexuality?

Do the Buddhism believe in ghosts?

I'm curious to see your answer to those questions.

I know it's kinda of lame questions. :whistle:

Liebling:-))) · Feb 16, 2008

wow,

for response... I will be back for further post to response your post tomorrow.

jazzy · Feb 16, 2008

Interest thread, thank u for retell me about it. I took philosphy course about different religions around the world. I do remember the story about a man who was rich and prince then one day he walked outside of the palace and saw so many awful things. He left and search the answer. So fantasic story but Buddhist is not for me.

Hwy99 · Feb 16, 2008

Mann_K05 said:
What are their thoughts on rightness and wrongness or veiw it as nature?

I am not sure what this question mean, can you explain it more clear?

What is Buddhism's thought on homosexuality?

*chuckles* My simple answer, Love OK! Lust NO. That's it. But I have a good link for you to read about homosexuality in Buddhism, here's the link.

Homosexuality and Buddhism - ReligionFacts

Do the Buddhism believe in ghosts?

Actually I never read anything about the ghost in Buddhism, but I find some interesting about the ghost in Buddhism.

Preta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Also we do have Ghost Festivals.

Ghost Festival - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm curious to see your answer to those questions.

Of course, your welcome to ask

I know it's kinda of lame questions.

Haha naw it's not

Liebling:-))) said:
wow, for response... I will be back for further post to response your post tomorrow.

No problemo

Sure take your time

jazzy said:
Interest thread, thank u for retell me about it. I took philosphy course about different religions around the world. I do remember the story about a man who was rich and prince then one day he walked outside of the palace and saw so many awful things. He left and search the answer. So fantasic story but Buddhist is not for me.

No problemo

Yupp Buddhism do have good history, but yeah of course, follow your heart

KarissaMann05 · Feb 16, 2008

^ ^ ^

for answer my questions.

I want to ask more questions, I'd better to wait and think of something else first before I post a new comment here.

Hwy99 · Feb 16, 2008

Mann_K05 said:
^ ^ ^ for answer my questions.

I want to ask more questions, I'd better to wait and think of something else first before I post a new comment here.

No problemo

Sure take your time, but I would like you to explain the first question more clear, I would love to answer that question.

XBGMER · Feb 16, 2008

PuyoPiyo said:
Yes or goes to Nirvana (heaven). As long as we do believe the soul do exist inside our body, and we believe it's impossible for the soul to be disappeared at the same time the body died because we see the bodies just like the clothes, so our soul might stay on the Earth relocating to new body. Or maybe some of us might became full enlightemented, we don't have to stay at the Earth, we go to Nirvana.

Any further question, don't be hassle to ask me

Oh Now i understand and see the different of view between hindu and buddha.

I always have been believe in reincarnation serie's doctrines, not from hindu nor buddha. I mean I believe that I will come back to man's seed and woman's womb where I will be re-birth after death do apart. without questions.

Hwy99 · Feb 16, 2008

XBGMER said:
Oh Now i understand and see the different of view between hindu and buddha.

I always have been believe in reincarnation serie's doctrines, not from hindu nor buddha. I mean I believe that I will come back to man's seed and woman's womb where I will be re-birth after death do apart. without questions.

Yupp Hinduism and Buddhism both are much different.

Also I felt the same thing as you do!

I agree, it's possible for a soul to go back to the life in the earth, also don't forget that God in Christian did that, going to the earth in purposed to get in the life in the earth! Isn't it interesting

XBGMER · Feb 17, 2008

PuyoPiyo said:
Yupp Hinduism and Buddhism both are much different.

Also I felt the same thing as you do! I agree, it's possible for a soul to go back to the life in the earth, also don't forget that God in Christian did that, going to the earth in purposed to get in the life in the earth! Isn't it interesting

Puyopiyo, Yes I wont forget about christ's time. like many jewish and jewish religion said to jesus, you are one of old jewish prophets, others said he was christ. others said he is old devil. I understood their meanings about it. they think he was rebirth from one of prophets and he had charateristic one of many prophets he can talk like them did.

therefore, my thought of jesus, I believe that He was reincarnted from the old prophets since he was born from the woman and all prophets were born from woman, werent they?

InnocentOdion · Feb 17, 2008

If there was a Theistic (like, the Christian God, or the Hindu form of Brahman (not Brahma)) form of Buddhism, I would be a Buddhist again quicker than lightening.

Hwy99 · Feb 18, 2008

XBGMER said:
Puyopiyo, Yes I wont forget about christ's time. like many jewish and jewish religion said to jesus, you are one of old jewish prophets, others said he was christ. others said he is old devil. I understood their meanings about it. they think he was rebirth from one of prophets and he had charateristic one of many prophets he can talk like them did.

therefore, my thought of jesus, I believe that He was reincarnted from the old prophets since he was born from the woman and all prophets were born from woman, werent they?

*nods* I could agree with what you said...

InnocentOdion said:
If there was a Theistic (like, the Christian God, or the Hindu form of Brahman (not Brahma)) form of Buddhism, I would be a Buddhist again quicker than lightening.

Well Buddhism is a nontheist, which mean a religion without a God.

InnocentOdion · Feb 19, 2008

Well Buddhism is a nontheist, which mean a religion without a God.

Yeah, I used to be Buddhist.

GarnetTigerMom · Feb 19, 2008

I enjoy and love studying "buddhism" and we study that in matieral arts classes. That was long time ago for me. But I never stop enjoying it. It's very rewarding. Ever heard of Siddhartha Gautama? He is very interesting. He was a buddism. A biography of Siddhartha Gautama was not written during his lifetime and the earliest accounts of life were not recorded until some three hundred years after his death. Because there has been much debate by historians on where to draw the line between history and legend, the history probably contains much myth. However, this is the history is accepted by most Buddhists and forms a model for all Buddhists to live by. Buddism started in the sixth century B.C by Siddhartha Gautama. It a great book too.

Buddhism FAQ

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