Question: (Unedited)
Hi
I never really paid much attention to Buddhist teachings in RE class back in High School, i was too busy trying to cause trouble.
I'm not a very happy person. I suffer with a condition called trichotillomania which causes me to pull out my eyelashes and eyebrows and has done since I was 8 years old. This has caused a lot of trouble for me and i don't think i've ever recovered.
I can be aggressive and frequently feel suicidal, i react in a pretty unfair way to the opinions of others which I hate. I hate the way the world is becoming and crave peace so badly that sometimes dying seems the only option. I know that I have this happiness within me somewhere but I just cannot find a way to keep it.
It is important that you understand I don't like religion, I don't like Christianity or Catholisism or the Jewish faith. I don't like religions that seem to strive against one another to be the chosen people of God and I don't like the modern day people who sin 6 days a week and pray on the 7th! Frankly, it makes me sick and I want to get away from it so presently I tell myself I have no religion although I am supposed to be Christian!
I respect the concept of God and if he is up there I respect him, however, I think that the churches we prey in are full of corruption and I am fed up of the fact people seem to look upwards rather than inwards. It's the easy way out for a population of fearful people who behave like sheep... as you can see aggressive opinions.
I don't know very much about Buddhism is the first thing. All I know is that it seems to match with the person I want to be, peaceful and above all respectful of OTHER species - I watched a documentary which told of how buddhist monks allow cobras to roam as they will around the temple... others would have them turfed out or killed and this is sickening to me. Another thing I want to be able to do is to accept others ignorance and have the skills to be at peace and accept things I can't change in the world.
Please could you tell me what Buddhists worship?? Where the story comes from and what following buddhism means?
I don't want to commit to a religion I will not be able to give 100% to.
I would like to just state that unlike some people I do not want to join this religion purely for my own means.... I would like to use it to help and respect others, to better myself for the wellbeing of the poeple around me and to stop putting those around me in so much pain through whatever it is my soul finds so troubling.
I have no self esteem, i subscribe greatly to the physical beauty aspect of being a woman, I don't want to... I want health and happiness and with that comes beauty.
I may be delusional to some but in my opinion I can see the madness that surrounds this world and my western life with 9 - 5 office job just makes me miserable and sad. I see so much beauty around me in all of the things I believe that mother nature (I do not call it God) created and it is all being destroyed.
If you could give me some information on your religion I would be so grateful. One of my favourite sayings is that if the whole world were buddhist there would be no wars because i truly think that buddhism is the way forward.
I think that rather than saying that I should actually act upon it and use my life instead of watching it pass me by dreaming of what could be. I am so desperate to make a difference and be happy and end my sadness, anxiety and stress and the negative feelings I spread to others in my never ending search for the solution to lifes problems. I am the solution, I just need some guidance on how to go about solving. If this makes sense. I hope so. I'll stop rambling now.
Kind Regards
H .
My comment:
I never really paid much attention to Buddhist teachings in RE class back in High School, i was too busy trying to cause trouble.
I'm not a very happy person. I suffer with a condition called trichotillomania which causes me to pull out my eyelashes and eyebrows and has done since I was 8 years old. This has caused a lot of trouble for me and i don't think i've ever recovered.
I can be aggressive and frequently feel suicidal, i react in a pretty unfair way to the opinions of others which I hate. I hate the way the world is becoming and crave peace so badly that sometimes dying seems the only option. I know that I have this happiness within me somewhere but I just cannot find a way to keep it.
It is important that you understand I don't like religion, I don't like Christianity or Catholisism or the Jewish faith. I don't like religions that seem to strive against one another to be the chosen people of God and I don't like the modern day people who sin 6 days a week and pray on the 7th! Frankly, it makes me sick and I want to get away from it so presently I tell myself I have no religion although I am supposed to be Christian!
I respect the concept of God and if he is up there I respect him, however, I think that the churches we prey in are full of corruption and I am fed up of the fact people seem to look upwards rather than inwards. It's the easy way out for a population of fearful people who behave like sheep... as you can see aggressive opinions.
I don't know very much about Buddhism is the first thing. All I know is that it seems to match with the person I want to be, peaceful and above all respectful of OTHER species - I watched a documentary which told of how buddhist monks allow cobras to roam as they will around the temple... others would have them turfed out or killed and this is sickening to me. Another thing I want to be able to do is to accept others ignorance and have the skills to be at peace and accept things I can't change in the world.
Please could you tell me what Buddhists worship?? Where the story comes from and what following buddhism means?
I don't want to commit to a religion I will not be able to give 100% to.
I would like to just state that unlike some people I do not want to join this religion purely for my own means.... I would like to use it to help and respect others, to better myself for the wellbeing of the poeple around me and to stop putting those around me in so much pain through whatever it is my soul finds so troubling.
I have no self esteem, i subscribe greatly to the physical beauty aspect of being a woman, I don't want to... I want health and happiness and with that comes beauty.
I may be delusional to some but in my opinion I can see the madness that surrounds this world and my western life with 9 - 5 office job just makes me miserable and sad. I see so much beauty around me in all of the things I believe that mother nature (I do not call it God) created and it is all being destroyed.
If you could give me some information on your religion I would be so grateful. One of my favourite sayings is that if the whole world were buddhist there would be no wars because i truly think that buddhism is the way forward.
I think that rather than saying that I should actually act upon it and use my life instead of watching it pass me by dreaming of what could be. I am so desperate to make a difference and be happy and end my sadness, anxiety and stress and the negative feelings I spread to others in my never ending search for the solution to lifes problems. I am the solution, I just need some guidance on how to go about solving. If this makes sense. I hope so. I'll stop rambling now.
Kind Regards
H .
My comment:
Hi H,
First, don't panic. I've read your second posting, and will respond in that posting. Here I shall comment on what you have written in this posting. Please be assured that all of us have problems, including me. So you are perfectly normal. I will not give direct comments on your "problems", as I am not a qualified consellor. Instead, I shall provide you with what Buddhism is all about and you will be able to understand life, accept it, and flow with it; then you will have inner peace.
Buddhism is the name given to the teachings of the historical Buddha, whose name was Gotama.
What did he teach? He taught us to use our human intelligence to see the world as it really is. He taught us to be masters of ourselves. He taught us to be free from dogmas and commandments. So long as we are fearful of something or someone we are not free. We cannot have peace of mind if we are fearful.
He taught us how to have peace within ourselves. If we do not understand the true nature of the world and this life, we will never experience peace within ourselves.
The Buddha discovered the way to peace and happiness through realizing the true nature of life and this universe. It was more than 2500 years ago in northern India where the Buddha through harnessing the power of his mind realized that if man were to be free of greed, hatred and delusion, he had to look inwards into his mind, and start cleansing his inner defilements. If one reduces one's defilements, one would experience peace and happiness. He discovered that the whole world had certain characteristics and that life continued to exist because of certain causes. This world is very uncertain and unsatisfactory, because we cannot be fully satisfied in life; and that nothing is permanent. He also pointed out that because of our craving for permanent happiness and complete satisfaction, we were always miserable. Once we understand and come to terms with this imperfect world, we will not complain too much, and will live through life with wisdom accepting the whole "package of life".
The most salient aspect of Buddhism is FREEDOM in its practice. The Buddha encouraged his followers to use their common sense and human intelligence to analyze his teachings before accepting them. He pointed out that there was no super agent who controlled us, punished us and rewarded us. We are not puppets on the strings; and there is no puppeteer up above to manipulate us. The natural law of cause and effect rules the world. No matter what you are and where you are, or what you believe, this UNIVERSAL LAW rules supreme. There is no escape. It is perfectly impartial. In simple language, good begets good; evil begets evil.
So, in Buddhism there is no dogma and no commandment. There are only the guidelines and noble precepts which the Buddha advised us to follow. As diligent Buddhists we use certain precepts to guide our lives. These are the 5 precepts: to refrain from killing, to refrain from stealing, to refrain from committing sexual misconduct, to refrain from telling lies, and to refrain from taking intoxicating substances.
Buddhist teachings are like air. They are free, and non-discriminating. If anyone thinks they are beneficial, then they can breathe the air. If anyone chooses otherwise, then it's up to the person. This is the "religion" of Buddhism....Truth, Peace, Harmlessness, and Freedom. A more appropriate term to describe Buddhism is "humanism". It deals with the peaceful conduct of human lives.
To refer to a more traditional rendition of what Buddhism is please surf through this website:
http://www.budhhanet.net/e-learning/5minbud.htm
First, don't panic. I've read your second posting, and will respond in that posting. Here I shall comment on what you have written in this posting. Please be assured that all of us have problems, including me. So you are perfectly normal. I will not give direct comments on your "problems", as I am not a qualified consellor. Instead, I shall provide you with what Buddhism is all about and you will be able to understand life, accept it, and flow with it; then you will have inner peace.
Buddhism is the name given to the teachings of the historical Buddha, whose name was Gotama.
What did he teach? He taught us to use our human intelligence to see the world as it really is. He taught us to be masters of ourselves. He taught us to be free from dogmas and commandments. So long as we are fearful of something or someone we are not free. We cannot have peace of mind if we are fearful.
He taught us how to have peace within ourselves. If we do not understand the true nature of the world and this life, we will never experience peace within ourselves.
The Buddha discovered the way to peace and happiness through realizing the true nature of life and this universe. It was more than 2500 years ago in northern India where the Buddha through harnessing the power of his mind realized that if man were to be free of greed, hatred and delusion, he had to look inwards into his mind, and start cleansing his inner defilements. If one reduces one's defilements, one would experience peace and happiness. He discovered that the whole world had certain characteristics and that life continued to exist because of certain causes. This world is very uncertain and unsatisfactory, because we cannot be fully satisfied in life; and that nothing is permanent. He also pointed out that because of our craving for permanent happiness and complete satisfaction, we were always miserable. Once we understand and come to terms with this imperfect world, we will not complain too much, and will live through life with wisdom accepting the whole "package of life".
The most salient aspect of Buddhism is FREEDOM in its practice. The Buddha encouraged his followers to use their common sense and human intelligence to analyze his teachings before accepting them. He pointed out that there was no super agent who controlled us, punished us and rewarded us. We are not puppets on the strings; and there is no puppeteer up above to manipulate us. The natural law of cause and effect rules the world. No matter what you are and where you are, or what you believe, this UNIVERSAL LAW rules supreme. There is no escape. It is perfectly impartial. In simple language, good begets good; evil begets evil.
So, in Buddhism there is no dogma and no commandment. There are only the guidelines and noble precepts which the Buddha advised us to follow. As diligent Buddhists we use certain precepts to guide our lives. These are the 5 precepts: to refrain from killing, to refrain from stealing, to refrain from committing sexual misconduct, to refrain from telling lies, and to refrain from taking intoxicating substances.
Buddhist teachings are like air. They are free, and non-discriminating. If anyone thinks they are beneficial, then they can breathe the air. If anyone chooses otherwise, then it's up to the person. This is the "religion" of Buddhism....Truth, Peace, Harmlessness, and Freedom. A more appropriate term to describe Buddhism is "humanism". It deals with the peaceful conduct of human lives.
To refer to a more traditional rendition of what Buddhism is please surf through this website:
http://www.budhhanet.net/e-learning/5minbud.htm
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