The Ex-c Epic Buddhism Thread

[Deva]

I guess Bob may not be too knowledgeable about Buddhism.  I only looked up "criticisms of Buddhism" because I am somewhat burnt out, and he popped up.

[Noggy]

I guess Bob may not be too knowledgeable about Buddhism.  I only looked up "criticisms of Buddhism" because I am somewhat burnt out, and he popped up.

 

i imagine buddhism has its merits, but as soon as you start applying labels to it, even calling it "buddhism" it becomes much more like christianity than what it is supposed to be

[Deva]

I don't really care for labels either, Noggy. It just becomes a convenient way to identify yourself, shove yourself into some pigeonhole and rot there. That's what I think about labels.

 

However, sometimes I still use them.

[Noggy]

I think though that when you become upset with your sect, you're in a sect, which means you have labeled yourself, which means your are no longer a good Buddhist. Or which means you are no longer

[Noggy]

When you're at the point where you are upset with your sect, perhaps it means you're supposed to leave it. Perhaps searching for a better one is part of the process. I imagine though that you will become upset with that one as well. I imagine that at some point you must... mmm... as Buddha put it "be a lamp unto yourself", the bullshit written in those books is just that, bullshit, don't put any more stock into it than the bible. Its probably just a good starting point, a kick in the rear for the person that got tired of their sect. The first one? Christianity. Second? Theravada. Third? Well, there probably shouldn't be a third. At some point you get tired of religion and sects and guidance and you just be.

 

Though I am almost certainly wrong, according to some book...

[Deva]

I think though that when you become upset with your sect, you're in a sect, which means you have labeled yourself, which means your are no longer a good Buddhist. Or which means you are no longer

 

Was that last sentence complete?

 

The first one didn't make a whole lot of sense to me either.

[Deva]

When you're at the point where you are upset with your sect, perhaps it means you're supposed to leave it. Perhaps searching for a better one is part of the process. I imagine though that you will become upset with that one as well. I imagine that at some point you must... mmm... as Buddha put it "be a lamp unto yourself", the bullshit written in those books is just that, bullshit, don't put any more stock into it than the bible. Its probably just a good starting point, a kick in the rear for the person that got tired of their sect. The first one? Christianity. Second? Theravada. Third? Well, there probably shouldn't be a third. At some point you get tired of religion and sects and guidance and you just be.

 

Though I am almost certainly wrong, according to some book...

 

Maybe, maybe not.

[Noggy]

 

I know I mentioned this before, it seems that the Sohei in feudal Japan were more politically motivated then religious. Their actions seem to be at odds with the tenants of Buddhism. What justification did they try to use? Barring that, Would you opinion that it would be similar to Christian justifications for brutal and political behavior?

First off, I love tv tropes. That site is just plain fun.

 

Secondly, sure we've discussed it before but it is a favorite topic. From my study of the subject, there doesn't appear to be a specific class of monk one could call "sohei". Ronin, criminals, and spies often disguised themselves as monks to avoid suspicion and so they could move around relatively unimpeded. Monasteries and temples as landholders would sometimes employ fighting forces in order to protect their interests. Temples fought each other over land since the amount of rice an area could produce was a measure of its wealth. Monks would also take to the streets and riot against political policies. All of these actions do seem to me to be against the Precepts, marks of a corrupt system, and, yes, no better than similar actions of Western religions.

 

 

 

How do you see the monk's lighting themselves on fire in political protest?

[Rev R]

"How do you see the monk's lighting themselves on fire in political protest?"

 

 

It's an unusual practice that rarely is brought up in the West outside the occasional news story. I fail to see how suicide cultivates the virtue necessary for political and social change.