Buddhist cynicism

[Simple_Jack]

It's not required that one has a guru if you're relying on the tripitaka and commentarial traditions. Practice lineages such as Ch'an and Vajrayana are a different matter altogether.

 

Of course, having a [meditation] teacher, is advantageous.

Edited December 30, 2013 by Simple_Jack

[RongzomFan]

Remember it's also your responsibility to help Westerners understand the Dharma. So it is your fault that they don't understand it. Same as my fault that they don't. The teaching of Dharma is of utmost importance.

 

Some people understand it deeper or quicker than others. Some are slow to understand. The importance is not to become jealous or belittling of others. Help them study and understand.

For the millionth time...

 

Go to your local mainstream Hindu temple (Not Hare Krishna, Swaminarayan or Sai Baba temples).

 

Then do an archana.

 

I can describe chocolate, but you have to taste chocolate to understand.

[steve]

Seems there's always an explanation as to why Buddhism is not this and not that, so I would like to hear how Buddhism is not cynical against life.

 

The goal of The Buddha and Enlightenment is largely to end the cycle of rebirth by "extinguishing the flame" of desires and ego, etc., so that people don't have to suffer life anymore.

But why have such a negative view of life that you want to escape it? Isn't that manically depressing to say "oh, life, it's just terrible, I'm going to commit myself to never having to do it again."

 

I appreciate the vast majority of Buddhist doctrine, like ridding oneself of the burden of desires and ego, and seeing the transitory nature of all things so that we can both not worry about things that don't matter and also appreciate the gifts of beautiful moments that we have.

 

But there is a lot in the sutras which suggest one needs to see how terrible life is. This is a horrible suggestion, in my opinion, and obviously one which has polarized Buddhist and Taoist doctrines in certain comparisons.

 

So, Buddhists, "what have you got to say for yourselves?"

I'll qualify my comments by making it clear that I'm not very well read in Buddhism and have been practicing for a relatively short time.

 

For me, Buddhism is about discovering a different way to live this life.

Concepts like karma and reincarnation are valuable but easily misunderstood and need to be approached in a framework of proper view and experiential practice.

 

As I've looked at my life and that of those around me, I see an enormous amount of misunderstanding, ignorance, meanness, and violence. Generally speaking, this is a characteristic of humans and society and so subtle and pervasive that we are often not even aware of it. I also see profound beauty, peace, and love. Generally, this is a characteristic of nature and more "enlightened" humanity. A core value that I've discovered inside myself is that I would like to bring more of the beauty, peace, and love into my life and less of the other characteristics.

 

What I've found in Buddhist methods (and others) is a way to see through and abandon the aspects of our thought process and social interaction that encourages and maintains confusion and ignorance. As the confusion and ignorance lessen, there is a spontaneous growth of peace, warmth, and compassion which gradually replace the tendency towards conflict and violence. This is a real and measurable effect of relatively simple and accessible (though not necessarily easy) methods of practice and view.

 

The majority of folks I interact with have a skewed view of what Buddhism is all about based on their understanding and misunderstanding of the liturgy and commentary. This is because Buddhism is NOT about theory, analysis, and intellectual understanding. It is about making changes in your life to foster a more direct experience of what lies beneath the superficial confusion and ignorance created by our social, cultural, and personal programming and conditioning. Certainly there is a role for reading and understanding sutra but that is only one tool, one of many doorways, and not intended to stand on its own.

 

So in summary, for me Buddhism is not about escaping from life at all. It is about connecting with life in a way that leads to a much deeper and more satisfying way of living.

[Simple_Jack]

From Dzog Chen and Zen, pg.16 by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, pg. 16:

 

A human being has his limits. And thus in every conceivable way, with every possible means, he tries to make the teaching enter into his own limits.

Edited January 24, 2014 by Simple_Jack