Quote Originally Posted by moorephened
I lived in PR China over the summer. Have you ever delved into Chinese Buddhism? That appears to be the heaviest form around.

By the way, excuse me if I'm ignorant about something but why is it "Ima" instead of "I'm a"
Where were you in China moorephened and what were ya doing their? I spent a year there back in '96-'97. Totally different now though. I go back pretty reguarly and can never get over how fast that place changes.

Anyhow, Chinese Buddhism is actually pretty mellow. They follow the Mahayana school of Buddhism which literally means "vehicle for the masses" . It's far more easily accepted by the average person than the original Therevada form of Buddhism which is found in Thailand and Sri Lanka. Kind of like Protestantism vs Catholicism. Plus very few Chinese are pure Buddhists, most throw in some Taoist and Confucian concepts as well, for a odd little religion/philosophy stew.

I was pretty heavy into Buddhism at one point. I had taken a semester of Eastern Religions and a lot of what I learned about Buddhism really made sense. Later I took a semester of just Buddhism (and then another of Chinese Religion) and really got into it. For a while I would go up to this Thai Buddhist temple not far from where I live and hang out, meditating and talking with the monks there. For anyone interested in Buddhism, I'd recommend doing the same. We rarely talked about Buddhism itself, more just shooting the shit about daily news and things like that. But that really gave me some insight into the way they felt about things. I personally feel I learned way more about Buddhism from that than from any books I had read.

One thing that really struck me was that they were really only concerned about what you felt, not neccessarily what you did. Once when I was talking with one of the monks he asked if I considered myself a Buddhist. I said not really. After all, I didn't really pray at the temples, I didn't spend a lot of time memorizing Buddhist scriptures, etc etc. Then he asked me what I believed and after I told him he said "you're Buddhist". This was far different than my experiences with the Christian religions which want you to folow a set of rules and practices in order to be a part of the club.

Oh well, I better stop rambling on. Glad to hear Buddhism has helped you find your way Gautama Siddhattha. It certainly made a positive impact on my life.
Fengzi Reviewed by Fengzi on . Ima Buddhist. Cannabiez, Ima Buddhist,and I think I always was and didnt know it. I was raised "Christain," but rarely did we go to church. I became intrested in "Chi," when I was young,reading martial arts magizines,but they only gave "Clues," as to any methods of developing it. When I was in prison I got a book called: "The world of Zen," and it started answering questions I had had my whole life. Then I got a book called: "Buddha," and it was obvoius that "Buddhism," was for me. I enjoy Rating: 5