Hema
Sweet n Spicy
Do you consider people animals?
Yes. However, in my beliefs, humans are different "animals" because we have the ability to realize God.
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Do you consider people animals?
Yes. However, in my beliefs, humans are different "animals" because we have the ability to realize God.
Realization \ Understanding \ Awareness of the Divine. :yes:
Sure it does. Who was it who convinced the Buddha to go out and teach the Dharma once he had attained enlightenment?What is the Divine? As Buddhism doesn't have a god creator.
Sure it does. Who was it who convinced the Buddha to go out and teach the Dharma once he had attained enlightenment?
But belief in the creator god or any god is irrelevant to attaining nibbana.
Hi Heather,
I read somewhere that there is an overlap between Tibetan buddhism and shamanism if this is correct could you tell me a little about it please ?
Regards
SW
Hey, Heather I have a question:
Why are you so awesome?
So he was talking to himself in the scriptures?He convinced himself.
That may be your interpretation of the story. But the original Pali scriptures are of full of references to gods, and in this case it was Brahma, the Vedic creator god, who convinced the Buddha to go out and teach the Dharma. If Brahma was Mara it's curious that he convinced the Buddha instead of tempting him to keep it to himself.Even Mara is just a manifestation of the mind.
No, I don't really. But I also don't really believe that Jesus was born of a virgin. And yet many people seem to insist the biblical scripture either be taken literally or not at all whereas they have no problem taking what they like from Buddhist scripture and dismissing the rest.Brahma and mara are just manifestations of the mind. Don't forget, the inclusion of Brahma was there to not alienate the Hindus.
Do you also believe the Buddha was born from under his mothers arm and exclaimed upon birth, I am the world honoured one.
Hi Mystic!
I wanted to ask if you could clarify something for me.
Since I first began to research Buddhism, the Vajrayana School has always fascinated me.
However, I keep hearing the term "wrathful deities" tossed around by scholars in describing the branch of Buddhism, and while I feel this is probably a poorly chosen term used to describe such Bodhisattvas, I would be lying if I said my first encounter with an image of Vajrabhairava (I think that's who it was. I could be wrong) left me feeling completely settled and at peace.
I guess what I'm asking from you is can you shed some light on this for me? Is "wrathful" really just a badly chosen term? Or is there another aspect to these beings I'm not quite seeing that justify the term wrathful while still upholding the concept of Compassion that is so important to the Buddhist faith?
Namaste :namaste
And I'm honored that you took time our of your day to answer! Especially since the thread has been quiet for so long :bounceHowdy Starsurfer! I'm honored to have my thread resurface! :foryou:
I've touched on the wrathful deities before at RF, and have also contemplated on them for a while now. Personally, I don't believe the term is poorly chosen, since the way I view them is they are wrathful not toward other beings, but toward non-Dharmic actions. They are the protectors of the Dharma, and are vigilant in it's purity and it's manifestations in our individual and collective conscience. When I meditate on them, I find myself very much at ease in the same way you describe. The reason is that if I were to approach the Dharma without wisdom and compassion, that they would do what they can to destroy the attachments that keep me from attaining Buddhahood.
In other words, I have a deep appreciation of them and what they are eternally committed to.
Hope that answers your question on how I see it all. Enjoy!
Would the . . .Gautama Buddha teach independent self-reliance or humble dependence on someone else?..thanks