Differences between Buddhism and Christianity
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knowing it on the surface is just superficial. it is just like a layer of oil floating on water which it cannot penetrate into water.
oil is heavier than water - one's plentiful of superficial knowldege is like the layer of oil on water that cannot penetrate into the mind. it is just like as time goes by the superficial knowledge can dry up if not put into more practices or constant observations, just like i can anytime use a spoon to scoop the layer of oil up from the water. substance is not the weight of the liquid, it is the essence of the water.
knowing is good but don't let the knowledge dry up. understand and study the knowledge and keep it firm and deep into the mind. -
yeah seen a few times at the bookstores. ok thanks, shall consider getting one of them.Originally posted by Thusness:There is a documentary (not about the movie) DVD cum CD cum Book about the Da Vinci Code -- The Davinci Project, Seeking the Truth. You may want to grab it. Collectors item.
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Harry Potter is better.
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First you understand... then only after you give it all up, then you start to know. The firmer and deeper in your mind you keep it, the less you know.Originally posted by paperflower:knowing is good but don't let the knowledge dry up. understand and study the knowledge and keep it firm and deep into the mind. -
Originally posted by casino_king:First you understand... then only after you give it all up, then you start to know. The firmer and deeper in your mind you keep it, the less you know. good that you are understanding it.
but now you are still like the layer of oil on the water... heavy and hadn't got lesser on the load. -
Dharma is like a raft, you must discard it before you can go on to enlightenment. Enlightenemnt does not come from understanding Dharma. When you seek, you take refuge in the three treasures but to become enlightened you destroy them.
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dharma is not the raft. it is the knowledge of truth. truth is in the mind, in the dharma. it is like the sea that is all around all present. just like water, anything can be on it, in it. the destination is enlightenment - buddhahood. the raft is the sangha where each different 84000 doors or different tradition schools provide the rafts to reach the shore of enlightenment. all three treasures work together closely. they are one another and there are no differences. thats when you understand onesness. one whole cannot be discarded. one minus zero is still equal to one. in buddhism it is NOT about annihilation or void or one minus one equal zero. because there isn't another one besides one to minus off when there is only single one. just like there is only one mind, we don't have another mind on top of this mind and that becomes confusion and false knowing. there is only one space infitnitely wide and empty yet not extinct.Originally posted by casino_king:Dharma is like a raft, you must discard it before you can go on to enlightenment. Enlightenemnt does not come from understanding Dharma. When you seek, you take refuge in the three treasures but to become enlightened you destroy them.
it is there and yet not there. it is more and yet it is less. -
casino king, i understand what u trying to say. when you think the raft is not there then what is there for you to discard then?
just like the heart sutra says.... enlightenment is when u realise there is no attainment.
yes it is very profound and deep now to understand emptiness..... thats the beauty of the dharma with no labels. -
Erm, discussed before.Originally posted by casino_king:Dharma is like a raft, you must discard it before you can go on to enlightenment. Enlightenemnt does not come from understanding Dharma. When you seek, you take refuge in the three treasures but to become enlightened you destroy them.
To reach the edge of the other shore, we have to rely on a raft.
In regards to 'discarding the raft':This is a high stage and for beginners like me, I still need the raft for my cultivation. But for someone on the verge on liberation, that's different. Its just like saying - you cannot possibly propel your raft even onto the land. For example if you practise meditation, eventually you will reach the state of non-meditation. If you practise a Koan, eventually the Koan, the Question, the Method will dissolve altogether, and what is left is your luminous Buddha Nature shining clearly.
Thought-Free Wakefulness (a website on meditation based on Vajrayana)
....Having perfected one taste through the levels of the lesser, medium and higher stages, the fourth yoga is nonmeditation. This is the point at which every type of conviction and the fixing of the attention on something completely dissolves. All convictions and habitual tendencies have dissolved and are left behind. One has captured the dharmakaya throne of nonmeditation.
In the beginning one needs to be convinced about how reality is: one needs to have confidence in the view. Ultimately, however, any form of conviction is still a subtle obscuration, still a hindrance. At the final stage of nonmeditation, all types of habitual tendencies and convictions need to be dissolved, left behind. There is nothing more to cultivate, nothing more to reach. One has arrived at the end of the path. All that needs to be purified has been purified. Karma, disturbing emotions and the habitual tendencies have all been cleared up, so that nothing is left.
The path is necessary as long as we have not arrived. The moment we arrive, however, the need for the road to get there has fallen away. As long as we are not at our destination, then it is also necessary to have the concept of path in order to get there. But once the destination has been reached, once whatever needs to be cultivated has been cultivated and whatever needs to be abandoned has been left behind, the whole need for path is over. That is what is meant by nonmeditation, literally non-cultivation. This is the dharmakaya [the formless body of ultimate reality, one of the three bodies (kayas) of Buddha] throne of nonmeditation. In Dzogchen, the exhaustion of all concepts and phenomena is the ultimate level of experience. This is the state of complete enlightenment. Both these levels of realization are equal to that of all buddhas... -
just a question to anyone.....
have you ever sat down unpurposefully, then you "look" at yourself (using the mind) and feel your own presence? have you ever asked yourself, what am i actually, who am i, why me, what am i doing here.....? have you ever felt the presence is there and yet not there... still-flowing...... and yet a hidden sense of non-activeness is also there..... have you wondered there could be other worlds like yours out there? have you ever thought other people might be also feeling the same thing as u or maybe not at all..... -
Have you ever wondered what it is like for people who by other means reach the other shore and then look back at the rafts?Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Erm, discussed before.
To reach the edge of the other shore, we have to rely on a raft.
In regards to 'discarding the raft': -
No idea what you mean.Originally posted by casino_king:Have you ever wondered what it is like for people who by other means reach the other shore and then look back at the rafts? -
Dharma is the nature of all things. So how can u discard it?Originally posted by casino_king:Dharma is like a raft, you must discard it before you can go on to enlightenment. Enlightenemnt does not come from understanding Dharma. When you seek, you take refuge in the three treasures but to become enlightened you destroy them.
Are u implying before nibbana, one should discard "attachment" for dhamma knowledge?
Destroying the three treasures sound abit extreme.
Btw the three treasures are Dharma, Sangha and Buddha. -
In buddhism, you have the power to save yourself. In Christianity, you are powerless. it is Jesus Christ who saves you.
In buddhism, the ultimate end is to relieve suffering. In Christianity, the ultimate end is a relationship with God or a separation from God. -
nice idea there , u doesnt sound like a social outcastOriginally posted by SocialOutcast:In buddhism, you have the power to save yourself. In Christianity, you are powerless. it is Jesus Christ who saves you.
In buddhism, the ultimate end is to relieve suffering. In Christianity, the ultimate end is a relationship with God or a separation from God.
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As long as there are things you cannot detach from, then you are attached. It does not matter what it is that you cannot detach from. Did Buddha had the 3 Gems with him when he became enlightened? He had nothing; the 3 gems came after enlightenment to help seekers. You must decide for yourself when you want to graduate from seeking.Originally posted by Isis:Dharma is the nature of all things. So how can u discard it?
Are u implying before nibbana, one should discard "attachment" for dhamma knowledge?
Destroying the three treasures sound abit extreme.
Btw the three treasures are Dharma, Sangha and Buddha. -
You say this because you have limited understanding of Christianity or you have learnt Christianity from seekers within the church.Originally posted by SocialOutcast:In buddhism, you have the power to save yourself. In Christianity, you are powerless. it is Jesus Christ who saves you.
In buddhism, the ultimate end is to relieve suffering. In Christianity, the ultimate end is a relationship with God or a separation from God.
Jesus cannot save you; you alone can save yourself in Christianity. Jesus came to help you save yourself. Yet to save yourself you must give up trying to save yourself. Once you give up; you achieve emptiness and in emptiness you are full. -
NaMo AMiTuoFo
The Three Gems are not Physical entity.
1. Buddha is symbolic of Enlightenment (Jue2)
2. Dharma is symbolic of Perfect Rightous (Zheng4)
3. Sangha is symbolic of Perfect Purity/Clarity (Jing4)
Very good that you are pondering. Means that you are on the right track.Originally posted by casino_king:As long as there are things you cannot detach from, then you are attached. It does not matter what it is that you cannot detach from. Did Buddha had the 3 Gems with him when he became enlightened? He had nothing; the 3 gems came after enlightenment to help seekers. You must decide for yourself when you want to graduate from seeking. -
Cool.Originally posted by SocialOutcast:In buddhism, you have the power to save yourself. In Christianity, you are powerless. it is Jesus Christ who saves you.
In buddhism, the ultimate end is to relieve suffering. In Christianity, the ultimate end is a relationship with God or a separation from God. -
Sounds very true. What is your take?Originally posted by SocialOutcast:In buddhism, you have the power to save yourself. In Christianity, you are powerless. it is Jesus Christ who saves you.
In buddhism, the ultimate end is to relieve suffering. In Christianity, the ultimate end is a relationship with God or a separation from God. -
its not christanity alone that has a one god concept and it was he who created the world and universes and everything.
saying if u dun accept christ as ur saviour, u wont get to heaven and will go to hell, that is a fear tactic. some pple can accept, but some can't.
somemore, they dun have a concept of kamma and rebirth.
if their followers dun have such a concept of kamma and rebirth, they can wreak havoc in the name of their religion and justify for it, as when they die, they will go to heaven and enjoy happiness forever in god's kingdom.
you dun have that in the history of Buddhism, no wars are waged in the name of Buddhism. what you sow, you reap later on in your future births.
people would think twice before committing evils or havoc. imagine the state of earth, like depleting ozone layer, melting of polar ice caps and global warming, would you like to come back as a human in this type of world in future rebirths? -
Very simple. Imagine you are stuck in a desert for many days, and you have ran out of water. One man comes to you and say 'follow me, I give you 1.5 litres of water for your journey home.' The other man says 'follow me. I will bring you straight home.'Originally posted by casino_king:Sounds very true. What is your take?
Who will you follow? Help yourself, or be helped? Is suffering the primary reality in life? Or is salvation the primary reality?
Many people suffer in this life. But some do not.
But ALL people die, and needs salvation.
You decide which reality you want. (actually there is only one true reality, see if what you have chosen is indeed the one.) -
Saying that Christ is the only saviour is not a fear tactic. It is the concept of absolute truth. Either he really is, or he really isn't. If Christ had said 'You can choose to believe me or not. It doesn't matter lah!' Do you think this kind of God is worth worshipping?Originally posted by marcteng:its not christanity alone that has a one god concept and it was he who created the world and universes and everything.
saying if u dun accept christ as ur saviour, u wont get to heaven and will go to hell, that is a fear tactic. some pple can accept, but some can't.
somemore, they dun have a concept of kamma and rebirth.
if their followers dun have such a concept of kamma and rebirth, they can wreak havoc in the name of their religion and justify for it, as when they die, they will go to heaven and enjoy happiness forever in god's kingdom.
you dun have that in the history of Buddhism, no wars are waged in the name of Buddhism. what you sow, you reap later on in your future births.
people would think twice before committing evils or havoc. imagine the state of earth, like depleting ozone layer, melting of polar ice caps and global warming, would you like to come back as a human in this type of world in future rebirths?
The same way I can say that the concept of karma is also a fear tactic. It prevents me from doing bad things, so that next life I won't get bad things coming my way. -
if you do not accept christ as saviour, you will go to hell is not a scare tactic, i dunno what is frankly speaking.Originally posted by SocialOutcast:Saying that Christ is the only saviour is not a fear tactic. It is the concept of absolute truth. Either he really is, or he really isn't. If Christ had said 'You can choose to believe me or not. It doesn't matter lah!' Do you think this kind of God is worth worshipping?
The same way I can say that the concept of karma is also a fear tactic. It prevents me from doing bad things, so that next life I won't get bad things coming my way.
do good, avoid evils are the teachings of the Buddha.
u prefer evils than good in this world? how can doing evil obtain salvation?
it harms other and oneself isnt it. -
Can the two of you quote for us the sayings of Jesus (not religious people) that say you go to hell if you do not believe in him (Jesus?) You know how things get Lost in Translation or Added in Translation.