meditation question..

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BUDDHISM IN OUR DAILY LIFE

China Academic Lectures
Sponsored by
China Institute in America, N.Y. USA

By Dr. C. T. Shen

LECTURE 1:

THE CONCEPT OF BIRTH AND DEATH

In the Christian Bible, in the Book of John, Chapter XVI, Verse
12, Jesus Christ tells his disciples, "I have yet many things to say
unto ye, but ye cannot bear them now." That is to say, what Christ did
teach his disciples was only a small part of what he knew, because the
level of understanding of his disciples at that time was such that
they could only absorb so much. Unfortunately, Jesus died at the age
of 33. Time did not allow him
to give his disciples a complete course of teaching. What Christ knew
and did not say remains an unanswerable question.
On the other hand, Buddha lived for 80 years. He had 45 full
years from the time of his enlightenment to teach his disciples: long
enough to gradually lead his disciples to learn and practice various
stages of teaching, from a self-centered liberation from human
suffering to the most profound supramundane doctrine.
If we assume that these founders of two of the greatest religions
on earth were both persons possessed of profound wisdom, then many
teachings expounded by Buddha could be those which Christ knew but did
not have time to teach.
With this view in mind, it seems to me that the study of Buddhism
by Christians can have a special significance, that is, the search for
what Christ knew but did not say.
The Buddhist concept of birth and death could be a good example
of just such an area of thought. That is why I have said these few
words first.

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:smokin:

I agree with ate. I chat bout various styles of meditation to my christian pals and they don't by it. They'd rather tell me that the prefer to do their god's will *>shruggs<*. I learn, so called, gods' will by clearing my head of propaganda via silent meditation, then I find I can connect to anything and everything and through enlightenment I live a peaceful life. Happy Dayz

Hi Binz. I'd have to disagree with the writer's text on what Buddhism is and any relationship our views might have with those of christianity, especially birth and death. IF JC had truly understood and learned anything at all from Buddhism then he wouldn't have said anything like he did. Buddhism from the outside might seem to be purely about morality and goodness, but that's not what it's main focus is. Core to our beliefs are a particular understanding of the nature of reality, which doesn't include the idea of a personal soul, or a god.

MelT

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Originally Posted by MelT

Core to our beliefs are a particular understanding of the nature of reality, which doesn't include the idea of a personal soul, or a god.

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I agree completely! :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by MelT

IF JC had truly understood and learned anything at all from Buddhism then he wouldn't have said anything like he did.

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What do you mean? From what I've read of direct quotes from Jesus, he was very Buddhist in philosophy (well, mostly what I've read was from the Gnostic texts, so my p.o.v. may be skewed). Granted I'm not a Biblical scholar; do you have any examples of quotes that aren't in alignment with Buddhism?

Hi Jayclub.:)

Originally Posted by MelT
IF JC had truly understood and learned anything at all from Buddhism then he wouldn't have said anything like he did.


Jayclub: What do you mean? From what I've read of direct quotes from Jesus, he was very Buddhist in philosophy (well, mostly what I've read was from the Gnostic texts, so my p.o.v. may be skewed). Granted I'm not a Biblical scholar; do you have any examples of quotes that aren't in alignment with Buddhism?

I understand you're question. I think my statement wasn't very clear. As I said, Buddhism isn't just about being say, moral or non-aggressive. If we just compare our mutual stances on morality then of course Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc, will ALL have much in common. If JC inded learned the idea of 'goodness' from anywhere except the OT scriptures, then it could just as easily been from Hinduism as Buddhism. But you can't take Buddhist morality as an ideal in isolation, as being somehow representative of us. It isn't Buddhism, just our moral code, not our beliefs.

I know there are Christian-Buddhist groups, but the Buddhism they teach is a very, very modified version of true Buddhism. Obviously, as there has hitherto been no form of Buddhism with a belief in a god or a soul it would have to be:) Almost any religion can be adapted to merge with another, but Christianity and Buddhism are at odds at such a core level, despite their shared views on conduct, they're beyond resolution.

Interesting subject though isn't it?:)

MelT

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Originally Posted by Jaycub

I agree completely! :thumbsup:



What do you mean? From what I've read of direct quotes from Jesus, he was very Buddhist in philosophy (well, mostly what I've read was from the Gnostic texts, so my p.o.v. may be skewed). Granted I'm not a Biblical scholar; do you have any examples of quotes that aren't in alignment with Buddhism?

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Mark 16:16: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

That verse is totally at odds with...well, pretty much all of Buddhism.

"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." —Gautama Buddha

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Originally Posted by Oneironaut

Mark 16:16: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

That verse is totally at odds with...well, pretty much all of Buddhism.

"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." â??Gautama Buddha

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Word, makes sense.