New Petchburi Pete Posted May 1, 2003 Report Share Posted May 1, 2003 My wife is a practicing Buddhist. I thought I had a basic understanding of Buddhism. I am also aware of the many sects (varieties) of the faith. I thought it was all about reincarnation. However, my wife tells me that many monks have taught her that there is a Buddhist 'version' of Heaven and Hell, which I was not aware of, or I may have simply forgotten about ... can anyone clarify this for me ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markle Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 I'm no expert on Thai or any other kind of Buddhism but the first thing you need to understand is that what many people call Buddhism in Thailand has been mixed with a great deal of Hinduism, folk beliefs, Chinese Taoism etc. My understanding of Heaven and Hell in Thai belief is that you might go there as a part of your reincarnation cycle, rather than enternal condemnation in Christian tradition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 >>>I thought it was all about reincarnation. <<< that is a very complicated question for which there is no clear answer. what most monks would tell you is, that buddhism is about realisation of truth and that can only reached by meditation not by logic. the way of buddhist meditation is the middle way (but still, some of the more extreme forms of hindu meditation are still practised by meny buddhist schools). historically seen, popular buddhism has always employed local religions as a tool to teach the population the middle way, such as the bon religion in tibet, some forms of animism and hinduism here in thailand's theravada, confuzianism and taoism in the different chinese schools like pure land buddhism etc. the 'pure' buddhism from the scriptures is way too esoteric and complicated for the normal population to understand, so that is softened for the people. buddhism was never into extremes and complete strict observance of the dogma anyhow as it accepts human failure. every human has to carry his/her consequences for his/her failures themselves. there the idea of hell comes in. how you interpret that depends then very much on you, or the school of buddhism you belong to. one thing though, in no school i am aware of the condition of hell is eternal. looking at the more esoteric forms of buddhism things can get even more confusing as they also adopt the hindu concept of 'maya' meaning that everything we experience is just an illusion, all what our senses tell us is just a hinderence on realising the truth, an illusion built up as an attempt to grasp something beyond our comprehension. the best advice i was given, when i buggered a monk in tibet about reincarnation and those things: he said that i should not think about those things, they would only confuse me. i should care about the here and now, and if i live the here and now as good as i can, then everything will come to me by itself in it's right time. so, i would say, that buddism is mainly about the present moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 i should care about the here and now ------------------------------- Yep, that's Buddhism in a nutshell. If it's not going here and now, it will never be. What B points at is to live each moment perfectly aware of the illusory nature of all things. When ones realizes that, we see that time, space, future, past are just as illusory as anything else. they are of help to us, but ultimately they must be discarded. hence there is no such thing as striving for Nibbana, that's adding a notion of time that negates the whole B. philosophy, which is to get rid of absolutely everything, every notion that encumbers the brain, therefore our lives. That reminds me of the ZEn teacher who was asked :" what is this that you really do, I see no cult, no praying, no religion in your practices?", to which he replied"Nothing, we dance". B spent 6 or 7 years of his life striving, when he stopped striving and just sat...Bingo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Petchburi Pete Posted May 3, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2003 Buddhism, especially Thai Buddhism, is indeed facinating. It is a wonderful experience living in a predominantly Buddhist nation, and, as most of us would probably agree, a priviledge. It certainly is a vastly different scene here, compared to living in the States ... and a welcome change of pace if I might add. I'd like to study meditation more deeply. In the "Big Mango" you need to find or 'imagine' relaxing, peaceful periods of 'escape' ... time away from the masses, and peace unto oneself, for here it is especially precious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soongmak Posted May 4, 2003 Report Share Posted May 4, 2003 Hi Pete, Personally, I don't know a lot about buddhism - probably not even the basics. Recently there was a discussion on the Nanapong Messageboard, and Scuba22, also a member of this board, mentioned a website where some of Payutto's work, supposedly one of thailand's formemost buddhist scholars' was translated in english. You can find the website here. He also addresses the matter of Heaven and Hell. Hope this helps. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmine Posted May 6, 2003 Report Share Posted May 6, 2003 I hope I can explain well. I have studied the Buddhism a lot, mostly by reading. They?re many levels of Buddhism beliefs and teachings and each person understands to the limit of his/her capacity. It is said that there are 3 types of people, one is like a lotus seed (may sprout or become fish food), the second is like a lotus at the level of water, (may survive to see the sunlight, but may also rot away), and the third is the lotus, which blooms above water. It is said that most people are like the first type (lotus seed) and the second and to teach these people, it needs miracles. The Buddhism concentrates on cause/affect (Karma) and not to be careless. Ones also must understand of changes are constant so do not put on the hopes that things are permanent. The main thing of the religion is to care about now/present and practices the middle-way. There are 5 main precepts for the non-monks to adhere to (Do not tell lies, Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal and Do not drink alcohol). Heaven and Hell are the places where the souls are believed to go after each death (remember of reincarnation). Not all souls find way they are supposed to go, that is why it is believed of ?ghosts?. Most souls go directly to Hell (many levels of Hell, some levels are not that far from Earth) and being punished for the sins, for the sins are NOT forgiven. After the souls are finished with their penalty, some are to be born again to be animals or human or some goes to Heaven. The Heaven (again many levels of Heaven) is the place where souls with merits go, however, the time is also limited and these souls can be born again for they do still have ?Karma?. One of the writings I read said that Heaven and Hell are right here on Earth. Some people are happy in no matter what they do, never lacks for anything and it is heaven. Some people spend their lives in misery, in jail, poverty, wrong professions and disease, thus are suffering. I don?t know what else to say, please ask more specific questions, perhaps I can explain. Jasmine (who thinks she has a "karma" to keep on working) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Radley Posted May 6, 2003 Report Share Posted May 6, 2003 Says flyonzewall: ...the best advice i was given, when i buggered a monk in tibet ... Hi, Hope you meant 'bugged', not buggered... :: :: :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink15 Posted May 7, 2003 Report Share Posted May 7, 2003 LMAO I missed that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Petchburi Pete Posted May 7, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2003 Thanks to you and all who helped me get a basic understanding of the distinction. I plan to read more about Buddhism. Presently, I'm just starting "Living Buddha, Living Christ" by Thich Nhat Hanh, which was highly recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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