Dharma

[Vmarco]

How many Buddhism teachers teach Buddha dharma? Can you imagine a Hike Guide who has never been to the mountain, or an algebra professor without an understanding of math? How many Buddhists teachers understand Buddha dharma?

 

Among many today, Buddha himself would be seen as arrogant and prideful for saying don't follow teachers, brahmans or contemplatives; but dwell in the dependence of the dharma (Garava Sutra). Can you imagine the backlash of Buddha saying to not cling to the guidance of teachers,...especially those who preach interfaith jargon, which are for the most part, directly opposed to Buddha dharma.

 

Buddha dharma (dhamma for the Pali) can be, and should be, interpreted as the Nature of how a Buddha Welcomes or perceives. A Buddha welcomes through an awareness of the Way Things Are. The 4 Noble Truths point to the Way Things Are, by recognizing the Way Things Are Not. That is to say,...Dukkha is a consequence of the desire for things to be other than they are. Sentient beings, because of their attachment to sentience, only see, and can only see, the Way Things Are Not. The way leading to the cessation of dukkha is through the Noble Eightfold Path.

 

The Noble Eightfold Path when understood, and as a result, effortlessly applied, leads to the awareness of avidya or ignorance, and the means to liberation from dukkha. However, how many Buddhism teachers understand the Noble Eightfold Path beyond a sentient contrived relative view? Are not the myriad of Buddhist lineages more interested to perpetuating their tradition, than actually promoting liberation, just as their Judeao-Christian-Muslim-Hindu counterparts?

 

How about Taoist Dharma? Not a familiar term perhaps, but how many discuss the highest quality of Taoism,...that is the absolute Tao? Surely, there are tens of thousands discussions on relative Taoism, and human-centric, sentient views of Yang/Yin,...but what about the absolute Tao? What Taoist teacher discusses the 6 senses?

 

Lao Tzu said, "Recognize that eveything you see and think (the 6 senses) is a falsehood, an illusion, a veil over the truth."

Edited February 2, 2013 by Vmarco

[Flolfolil]

i saw a bumper sticker yesterday that said "what would buddha do?" and i wondered if buddha would have said "uhh, what would -you- do?"

Edited February 2, 2013 by Flolfolil

[Failed Save]

I think the essence of it is that you must think and decide things for yourself.

 

For me personally, while my senses are illusory--in that everything I percieve is a creation of my own mind--knowing this does nothing for me, practically. It does not change the way I percieve things, and it certainly does not make what I percieve reality to be any less real. In my opinion, falling on the argument that all things are illusory is a way to not take responsibility for your own actions, and is also a way to give up on our lives and submit to things we feel we cannot change. It's the whole "going with the flow," thing... which deep down I dislike.

 

Again, we think and decide things for ourselves... and whatever choices we make, we must live with. So live with them, embrace them, along with all the other emotions conjured up by the senses, illusory as they may be, and continue to make your decisions based upon them. Embrace Passion. Scold Apathy.

 

"An illusion can kill you if you believe in it."
"And the real thing can kill you if you believe in it or not."

(Servant of the Shard)

[Vmarco]

For me personally, while my senses are illusory--in that everything I percieve is a creation of my own mind--knowing this does nothing for me, practically. It does not change the way I percieve things, and it certainly does not make what I percieve reality to be any less real.

 

So live with them, embrace them, along with all the other emotions conjured up by the senses, illusory as they may be, and continue to make your decisions based upon them. Embrace Passion. Scold Apathy.

 

"An illusion can kill you if you believe in it."

"And the real thing can kill you if you believe in it or not."

(Servant of the Shard)

 

Perhaps by reformulating the proposition,...for example, you suggest that knowing that the senses are illusory does not make what is perceived as reality any less real. Let's break that down abit,...if you really understood that the senses are illusory, why would you perceive the illusion as reality?

 

"A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real"... The Teachings of Buddha, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai

 

Instead of embracing the passion of the 6 senses,...what about simply embracing honesty,...filtering everything through honesty. Of course, in the beginning, it will all be about recognizing what is false. Yet that has been shown by the "greats" in Buddhism and Taoism to be the process.

 

Charles F. Haanel said, "The mind cannot comprehend an entirely new idea until a corresponding vibratory brain cell has been prepared to receive it." Thus, by identifying the false as the false as honestly as we can, we eventually uncover what is not false,...but we cannot see truth if we are seeing the false as reality.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Vmarco

[Maddie]

Since I don't really want to start another thread, I think I'll hijack this one.

 

In regards to one's own personal dharma (in the Hindu) sense, how is one supposed to find it?

[dwai]

11 minutes ago, dmattwads said:

Since I don't really want to start another thread, I think I'll hijack this one.

 

In regards to one's own personal dharma (in the Hindu) sense, how is one supposed to find it?

That’s a very good question. And it’s sort of difficult to do in the modern context. 

Here are my thoughts, imho — 

 

One factor is aptitude. What is my natural aptitude for? 
 

I’m looking at it from a function perspective — 

Do I have a natural aptitude for healing? Do I feel drawn towards it from a deep sense of compassion, or even if a reason for it is missing? 
 

Do I have a natural aptitude for business?
 

Or do I have a warrior spirit? Do I feel a pull towards protecting others, do I stand up and act upon seeing injustice? 
 

Or am I an intellectual type, and deep thinking, academic study comes naturally to me? 
 

I think if people start evaluating/looking at themselves from such angles, we might be closer to finding out personal dharma.

 

[Maddie]

10 minutes ago, dwai said:

That’s a very good question. And it’s sort of difficult to do in the modern context. 

Here are my thoughts, imho — 

 

One factor is aptitude. What is my natural aptitude for? 
 

I’m looking at it from a function perspective — 

Do I have a natural aptitude for healing? Do I feel drawn towards it from a deep sense of compassion, or even if a reason for it is missing? 
 

Do I have a natural aptitude for business?
 

Or do I have a warrior spirit? Do I feel a pull towards protecting others, do I stand up and act upon seeing injustice? 
 

Or am I an intellectual type, and deep thinking, academic study comes naturally to me? 
 

I think if people start evaluating/looking at themselves from such angles, we might be closer to finding out personal dharma.

 

 

What if one's natual aptitude was for healing and still is, but over time have developed more of an inclination to escape society and contemplate spiritual things?

[steve]

1 hour ago, dmattwads said:

In regards to one's own personal dharma (in the Hindu) sense, how is one supposed to find it?

 

42 minutes ago, dmattwads said:

 

What if one's natual aptitude was for healing and still is, but over time have developed more of an inclination to escape society and contemplate spiritual things?

 

I feel that the two, one's natural aptitude for healing and an inclination to escape society and contemplate spiritual things, go hand in hand. Furthermore, one need not escape society to engage in spiritual practice and transformation. It is far easier, and therefore recommended in many traditions, for many of us to escape to solitude than it is to transform oneself in the thick of samsara but it's not the only way. If you are called in that direction by all means follow that calling, but don't shy away from spiritual investigation simply because you cannot escape from society. In my own tradition, that very practice and transformation we seek is found by going directly through samsara, not around it.

 

There is nothing that makes one a better healer than to first heal oneself. The last line of a dedication prayer that my teacher wrote for his Western students is -

In liberating my own being may I benefit others.

Connecting with one's own dharma, the truth of one's nature, is liberation from suffering. 

Liberation is the ultimate healing.

If you are called to look for that, regardless of the circumstances, I highly recommend you heed the call.

[dwai]

1 hour ago, dmattwads said:

 

What if one's natual aptitude was for healing and still is, but over time have developed more of an inclination to escape society and contemplate spiritual things?

Everything that @steve said  

Also we have to consider the following in the Hindu context —

According to Hindu/Vedic dharma, two paths are outlined — one of a monk and one of a householder. If one chooses to become a monk, then they have in essence given up their former identity to become formal renunciants in their specific lineage — they give up their name, familial ties and so on, and even perform their own last rites before taking the vows of monk-hood. Their path is dictated by the lineage and its ultimate goal is moksha or liberation.

It’s the other one that is interesting for most of us — that of the householder. The dharma outlined four different stages of life — that of a celibate student, acquiring secular and spiritual knowledge

— that of a householder, participating and contributing to society with their professional skills 

— that of the retiree, ie retiring to the forest (literally termed forest-dweller stage), where they contemplate on the spiritual teachings, after bequeathing their worldly possessions to their heirs (or the state)

— that of the renunciant, taking the path of the monk (outlined earlier) to live out the rest of their life in pursuit of spiritual liberation (or getting as close as possible). 
 

The householder category is given some guidelines as to how live —

 

There are four goals by which to govern oneself and one’s conduct in life —

 

- dharma — the guidelines of how to stay in harmony with the dharma, what are the do’s and don’ts 

- Artha — acquisition of sufficient material comfort to enable oneself and one’s family to live per dharma and work towards the highest of these goals - moksha

- Kama — this is the healthy sense fulfillment, per dharma 

- Moksha — spiritual liberation, breaking the cycle of rebirth and realizing unity with the Godhead and/or Self-realization.