Contemplating Buddhism

[KronicKing]

i thought about Buddhism for a while,but i decided rather than follow a certain religion(no matter how lose the "rules" are)i have decided rather to make my own dharma and decide the best path when i come to the fork rather than huddle over scriptures wondering what their actual meaning is.i've meditated over this alot and it always seems one religion has atleast one thing wrong with it or one thing i do not agree with so i will make my own path duther than follow and specific guideline(once again regardless of how lose it is).most of this i decided after meditateing over a story i read:

late one night a young theif with little experience crept into a wealthy merchants house.he had fallen on hard times and decided that burglary was a more straightforward career than most others,and an occupation immediately at hand.he carefully planned everything.he closely observed the merchants home,when he got home,when he went to bed,the easyest way in.once inside the house he calculated that he would be able to search the home while the merchant snored away.
all went marvelously at first.he found,as he expected, an open window and wriggled easily into the merchants storeroom.from the bed chamber he could hear the merchant snoreing and snuffiling happily in dreamland.but,groping his way though the dark room he stubbed his bare toe against a table leg.
chokeing back a yelp of pain,terrified of wakeing the merchant,he smaked himself on the for head,for all his carefull planing he had forgoten to bring a light.
in the dimness however he was able to make out an oil lamp on a table.the theif reached into his pocket and pulled out flint and steel struk a spark and lit the lamp,as he picked up the lamp,a small spider scuttled out from under its base.
"thank you for saveing my life" said the spider "before he went to bed the merchant set this lamp down on top of me so i couldnt escape.if you hadnt come along i wouldnt have lased the night;indeed id have perished miserably,far from my web and my brood of little ones
"you have saved a life and showed compassion" the spider went on,although the impatiant theif protested he had no intention of doing so."better yet you have done it without the least thought or hope of reward.you have gained more merrit than you could possably imagine"
"but you are only a spider" the theif said
"and you are only a man" replied the spider."my dear theif,when you have understood that life is life be it on eight legs or two,you will have understood much.your deed in any case has cleansed you.go from here with fresh sirit and good luck to you"
and the thief did so with never a thought of stealing again.

if you think about this(atleast this happend when i did) it will lead you down many other paths of though helping you to better understand the path karma has set for you

good luck on your search for religion or purpose or enlightenment wichever you seek do not stop until you have reached your answer

[Stedric]

I think its always better to be spiritual than religious. I am an Agnostic I don't mind thinking deep but I think the idea of a Supreme Being and his son the 2000 year old dead carpenter wagging there fingers at me and telling me I'm not allowed to do something because its unholy is ridiculous.

Then again thats just me.

[Mojavpa]

I agree with Stedric. You're not allowed to do something because its unholy, and its unholy because you're not allowed to do it. But I actually think there is very little difference between agnosticm(not knowing if a God exists) and atheism, because either way you wont follow a certain dogma because you have yet to receive proof there is a supreme being. And most atheists wont say "I'm 100% sure there is NO God." It just doesnt matter to them if there is a god or not, they'll still follow their own valuies regardless of the fact that one day there might be convincing proof of a God(which wont happen)

[mrdevious]

I thought agnostic meant you believe in god but not following a faith. or am I wrong?

[Etrain]

Agnostic- One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God,
One who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism.

[Lulu]

'The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying' by Sogyal Rinpoche

If not, you should - I'm not Buddhist but some of the passages in that book were like light bulbs going off in my head.
Best of luck with whatever you chose.

[Reefer Rogue]

Yea, i'm agnostic and i've always thought it was that i don't believe there's enough evidence to prove there's a god. Atheism, i think is when you're 100% certain there is no god. Out of all the religions i also find buddism to be the most fascinating.

[garryageez]

Hello everyone, I'm still very young and I don't have a religion. Before now, I have never been a big fan of religion, although lately I have been contemplating buddhism. If anybody here has any thoughts/suggestions or knows a buddhist, I would appreciate it if they would enlighten me with knowledge. I've heard mixed reports on cannabis/drug use regarding the religion, but talked to a buddhist today and said cannabis has long been used as a meditation and enlightenment tool. If I wanted to take this seriously, would I have to quit smoking socially/for fun? Does all this sound stupid? I'm confused...

Hi To be a true Buddhist you must take vows which we call the five precepts, the 5th precept is to not drink alcohol or to take any form of intoxicant. The reason for this precept is that Buddhism is about learning to control the mind through meditation which needs to be perfectly clear for this to be achieved. But the good news is That Buddhist teachings are not just usefull to practicing Buddhists but to all people whatever their beliefs. You may have heard of Buddhist monks who smoke cannabis but i can assure you they are not thought very highly of in the monastic world. H.H. The Dalai Lama says on this subject, that for medicinal use it has its advantages but we need to clear our minds of illusion and not add to it, by using it as a drug. heres wishing you well Garry D.

[garryageez]

There are no strict 'rules' in Buddhism, I believe Siddhartha did discourage use of mind altering substances but times change of course. This is the great thing about Buddhism, you don't need to follow a shitload of regulations, it does not try to control your life to the extreme most other organized religions do.

Im sorry my friend but I beg to differ. To be a Buddhist there are vows that prohibit the use of any intoxicants, and these vows must be strictly adhered to, but that does`nt mean that people who smoke cannabis cant gain a lot from studdying the teachings of the Buddha it just means you cant take the vows to become a fully fledged Buddhist unless you mean to uphold them. With respect Garry D.

[garryageez]

'The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying' by Sogyal Rinpoche

If not, you should - I'm not Buddhist but some of the passages in that book were like light bulbs going off in my head.
Best of luck with whatever you chose.

Ive read it too I consider it a must read for everyone, now you want to read the Tibetan book of the dead that will really blow your mind. If you put it into your search bar you can read it on line. Happy reading Garry D.