Lilbrown007:
[size=13pt]Even Though Am Agnostic I Kinda Admire This People Even To Hurt A Fly Is Prohibited In Buddhism So Much Peace And Harmony I Think They Are More Connected To Nature Than Other Religion. And For Those Christians Or Muslims That Think Their Religion Is Right One And Other Unbelievers Are Gonna Burn In Hell While They Party With Jesus Or Muhammed(Enjoying Ther 72 Virgins) In Heaven While Other Billions Of People Burn In Hell Is Time For You To Think Again!! They Is No Right Religion And Thats The Fact You Wanna Worship God Fine But Don't Go Around Rubbing It In Peoples Face Or Involving In It Govt Or Go Around Killing People For Things U Cant Even Prove Meaning Those People Just Died For Noting NIGERIANS IS TIME WE START USING OUR BRAIN
[/size]

What is Buddhism?
Buddhism is a religion to about 300 million people around the world. The word comes from 'budhi', 'to awaken'. It has its origins about 2,500 years ago when Siddhartha Gotama, known as the Buddha, was himself awakened (enlightened) at the age of 35.

Is Buddhism a Religion?
To many, Buddhism goes beyond religion and is more of a philosophy or 'way of life'. It is a philosophy because philosophy 'means love of wisdom' and the Buddhist path can be summed up as:

(1) to lead a moral life,
(2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, and
(3) to develop wisdom and understanding.

How Can Buddhism Help Me?
Buddhism explains a purpose to life, it explains apparent injustice and inequality around the world, and it provides a code of practice or way of life that leads to true happiness.

Why is Buddhism Becoming Popular?
Buddhism is becoming popular in western countries for a number of reasons, The first good reason is Buddhism has answers to many of the problems in modern materialistic societies. It also includes (for those who are interested) a deep understanding of the human mind (and natural therapies) which prominent psychologists around the world are now discovering to be both very advanced and effective.

Who Was the Buddha?
Siddhartha Gotama was born into a royal family in Lumbini, now located in Nepal, in 563 BC. At 29, he realised that wealth and luxury did not guarantee happiness, so he explored the different teachings religions and philosophies of the day, to find the key to human happiness. After six years of study and meditation he finally found 'the middle path' and was enlightened. After enlightenment, the Buddha spent the rest of his life teaching the principles of Buddhism — called the Dhamma, or Truth — until his death at the age of 80

Was the Buddha a God?
He was not, nor did he claim to be. He was a man who taught a path to enlightenment from his own experience.

Do Buddhists Worship Idols?
Buddhists sometimes pay respect to images of the Buddha, not in worship, nor to ask for favours. A statue of the Buddha with hands rested gently in its lap and a compassionate smile reminds us to strive to develop peace and love within ourselves. Bowing to the statue is an expression of gratitude for the teaching.

Why are so Many Buddhist Countries Poor?
One of the Buddhist teachings is that wealth does not guarantee happiness and also wealth is impermanent. The people of every country suffer whether rich or poor, but those who understand Buddhist teachings can find true happiness.

Are There Different Types of Buddhism?
There are many different types of Buddhism, because the emphasis changes from country to country due to customs and culture. What does not vary is the essence of the teaching — the Dhamma or truth.

Are Other Religions Wrong?
Buddhism is also a belief system which is tolerant of all other beliefs or religions. Buddhism agrees with the moral teachings of other religions but Buddhism goes further by providing a long term purpose within our existence, through wisdom and true understanding. Real Buddhism is very tolerant and not concerned with labels like 'Christian', 'Moslem', 'Hindu' or 'Buddhist'; that is why there have never been any wars fought in the name of Buddhism. That is why Buddhists do not preach and try to convert, only explain if an explanation is sought.

Is Buddhism Scientific?
Science is knowledge which can be made into a system, which depends upon seeing and testing facts and stating general natural laws. The core of Buddhism fit into this definition, because the Four Noble truths (see below) can be tested and proven by anyone in fact the Buddha himself asked his followers to test the teaching rather than accept his word as true. Buddhism depends more on understanding than faith.

What did the Buddha Teach?
The Buddha taught many things, but the basic concepts in Buddhism can be summed up by the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.

What is the First Noble Truth?
The first truth is that life is suffering i.e., life includes pain, getting old, disease, and ultimately death. We also endure psychological suffering like loneliness frustration, fear, embarrassment, disappointment and anger. This is an irrefutable fact that cannot be denied. It is realistic rather than pessimistic because pessimism is expecting things to be bad. lnstead, Buddhism explains how suffering can be avoided and how we can be truly happy.

What is the Second Noble Truth?
The second truth is that suffering is caused by craving and aversion. We will suffer if we expect other people to conform to our expectation, if we want others to like us, if we do not get something we want,etc. In other words, getting what you want does not guarantee happiness. Rather than constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting. Wanting deprives us of contentment and happiness. A lifetime of wanting and craving and especially the craving to continue to exist, creates a powerful energy which causes the individual to be born. So craving leads to physical suffering because it causes us to be reborn.

What is the Third Noble Truth?
The third truth is that suffering can be overcome and happiness can be attained; that true happiness and contentment are possible. lf we give up useless craving and learn to live each day at a time (not dwelling in the past or the imagined future) then we can become happy and free. We then have more time and energy to help others. This is Nirvana.

What is the Fourth Noble Truth?
The fourth truth is that the Noble 8-fold Path is the path which leads to the end of suffering.

What is the Noble 8-Fold Path?
In summary, the Noble 8-fold Path is being moral (through what we say, do and our livelihood), focussing the mind on being fully aware of our thoughts and actions, and developing wisdom by understanding the Four Noble Truths and by developing compassion for others.

What are the 5 Precepts?
The moral code within Buddhism is the precepts, of which the main five are: not to take the life of anything living, not to take anything not freely given, to abstain from sexual misconduct and sensual overindulgence, to refrain from untrue speech, and to avoid intoxication, that is, losing mindfulness.

What is Karma?
Karma is the law that every cause has an effect, i.e., our actions have results. This simple law explains a number of things: inequality in the world, why some are born handicapped and some gifted, why some live only a short life. Karma underlines the importance of all individuals being responsible for their past and present actions. How can we test the karmic effect of our actions? The answer is summed up by looking at
(1) the intention behind the action,
(2) effects of the action on oneself, and
(3) the effects on others.

What is Wisdom?
Buddhism teaches that wisdom should be developed with compassion. At one extreme, you could be a good hearted fool and at the other extreme, you could attain knowledge without any emotion. Buddhism uses the middle path to develop both. The highest wisdom is seeing that in reality, all phenomena are incomplete, impermanent and do not constitute a fixed entity. True wisdom is not simply believing what we are told but instead experiencing and understanding truth and reality. Wisdom requires an open, objective, unbigoted mind. The Buddhist path requires courage, patience, flexibility and intelligence

What is Compassion?
Compassion includes qualities of sharing, readiness to give comfort, sympathy, concern, caring. In Buddhism, we can really understand others, when we can really understand ourselves, through wisdom.

Farmerforlife:


Every religion claims to be theoretically peace and light.

Please go and help us teach your version of Buddhism to those Buddhist monks in Myanmar and Sri Lanka, and tell the Dalai Lama the evils of degrading enslavement of lay Tibetans. Then come back and explain to us how far.

Lilbrown007:

I Am Not A Buddhist Didn't U See The Topic "Looking In Buddhism"??

Lilbrown007:

I Kinda Admire This People Even To Hurt A Fly Is Prohibited In Buddhism So Much Peace And Harmony

Farmerforlife:


I read the part where you said you were agnostic. I was just referring to this...



You sounded so sure, I assumed you must be an authority.

Lilbrown007:

No Am Not N I Checked Online And Saw Those Were Anti-Muslim Abi Islam

Farmerforlife:


I assume Muslims do rank somewhere slightly above flies in your opinion? As in when you say...

'Buddhists would not hurt a fly'.

Yet here they are.

Lilbrown007:

I Am Only Hearing Of This Assertions Now I Made That Statement Cause Its What Their Religion Preaches!! They Do Believe In Reincarnation "When U Die U Come Back As Lower Animals" That Why I Made The Statement That They Wont Hurt A Fly.

Farmerforlife:


Oh ok, lol. Just like when some Muslims say Islam is a religion of peace, and some Christians claim that Christians always turn the other cheek and some Jews claims to have only peaceful thoughts towards gentiles. I guess you now know a little better.

But surely you have come across Kung fu films. Why did you think Buddhist monks were famous for Shaolin temples where they trained in different martial arts? Of course they hurt flies and killed people, just like every other civilization. The Chinese and Japanese dynasties and Mongol empires were among the bloodiest in civilized history, and they were mostly buddhist. The Dalai Lama has really had some atrocities committed in his name. The West only like Tibetan buddhists because they are anti-China. As for the Myanmar buddhists, their genocide against the Burmese Rohingya and other minorities does not need any introduction.

If you are looking for a religion that teaches 100% pacifism, there arent any.

Lilbrown007:

No U Are Wrong The Reason Why I Opened This Thread In The First Place Was Because I Watched A Documentary On It And It Was About The Monk Yes The Shaolin Monk And Kungfu The Weapon They Use Are Blunt And They Only Fight For Self Defence Or For Entertainment Or A Challenge They Don't Kill!!

Farmerforlife:


They have had their own share of bloody history, blunt weapons CAN kill, but they used swords, knives and spears, and most Japanese Samurai warriors were Buddhist, and among the most bloodthirsty people in human history, just like the Mongol hordes. And practically all religions teach to fight only in self defence, which percept subsequently becomes abused as different people have different interpretations of what 'self defence' entails.

http://world.time.com/2013/06/20/extremist-buddhist-monks-fight-oppression-with-violence/

And next time, please dont take your religious beliefs from hollywood. I hope that wasnt how you became an agnostic. You sound like all your understanding of Buddhism comes from watching 'the 36 chambers of Shaolin' and 'snake in the monkey's shadow'; lol.

Oh, and writing in bold script all the time really defeats the point of using bolded words... to emphasize a word or phrase. Or is your pc stuck on bold?

AnonyNymous:
Interesting. . . op, could you elaborate on how karma explains the inequalities in the world?

winner01:
Religion is evil and it must be banished for humanity to progress. Yeah!!!, except buddhism, cos its has no superceeding authority.
And man does not really like authority even though he's forced to succumb to it most times.

Lilbrown007:

Am Agnostic O This Are Just The Basic Things I Know About Buddhism

AnonyNymous:

No need to get defensive. We're all learning lol. I'll read up more on it

Lilbrown007:
I Ain't Getting Defensive Bro