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Dalai Lama anyone? Buddhism?

trance in fraance

trance in fraance

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i've never really been one for religion/spirituality but im reading a book about the Dalai Lama and i feel like his views are absolutely amazing. i have severe depression & PTSD, and idk if its just me but after starting this book i already feel like my outlook on life has improved tremendously. After about a year of abuse from my "Catholic" family i thought religion was absolute hoopla, but (from what i've read) it seems like this kind of enlightenment is just what i need.

Just a few things im curious about:

-if you're a Buddhist/into Buddhism, where should i start reading/learning about it?
-am i just OVERexaggerating the Dalai Lama or is he/religion actually this enlightening/amazing.
-i dont wanna start a war about Religion online but are there any religions/beliefs like this? one of my friends said Taoism is something i might be interested in.

apologies in advance, obviously im a complete noob at this but i'm actually incredibley interested in this sort of Enlightenment. it seems like JUST what i need, and im asking for advice as to what direction i should go, etc.
if it matters- i was raised Catholic but after my "parents" found out i was openly bisexual and ok with it they freaked out and well yeah it was bad and turned me completely off with Catholigy/Christianity (because of the "a man shall not sleep with another man") thing.

much love guys <3 :) thanks
 
trance in fraance said:
-am i just OVERexaggerating the Dalai Lama or is he/religion actually this enlightening/amazing.
Click to expand...

no it isnt amazing at all
;)

&
the light is already there....



that Buddha, hes everywhere, all the time, just look and dont be surprised, thats the only way.

peace comes in the breeze and all of life can be seen, along the bowing branch of a tree.
easy enough



<3<3
<3
 
religions are only paths. the effort to walk them, regardless of which, is not from the path itself.

/cheese, but true
 
Mindfulness in Plain English - TNH
Zen Mind, Beginner Mind - Suzuki
This Is It - Watts
Emptiness Dancing - Adyashanti

read these four books from top to bottom and you should be preoccupied for some time to come :)
 
A lot of Eastern faiths/traditions/philosophies/whatever you want to call them have aspects of Enlightenment, Buddhism is just one of the more popular ones (in western society and pop culture)
The books Changed recommended are good, the first is about mindfulness meditation, which is very related to Buddhism. There are also different schools of Buddhism. To take things to the core, there are Dharmic and Taoic beliefs. Let me just say that Eastern society isn't the only one with Enlightenment, and you don't have to study under any religion to reach enlightenment. Like, with meditation, you're supposed to enjoy it. It has it's benefits, but meditating to have a better memory/concentrate better is like playing because it's good for your work, to paraphrase Alan Watts. Anyway, if you are interested, just google Dharmic and Taoic. If you like both, Chan Buddhism (Zen Buddhism) is essentially what you're looking for.
 
i heard a dalai lama to a buddhist is just a term used to describe a helpful and devoted friend. ex: she's my dalai lama.
 
I can't help but think the dalai lama has some huge secret pitfal. like he is a child molester or he collects snuff films or some shit.
 
I saw him give a talk earlier last year when he was in the country, friendly enough person and always laughing.. even if he was somewhat incoherent but i think the language barrier contributed to that a little bit. Some people had the opportunity to ask him questions; some were good but most of them focused on political events :( I just wanted to hear him tell everyone they didn't actually exist! ;)
 
malakaix said:
I saw him give a talk earlier last year when he was in the country, friendly enough person and always laughing.. even if he was somewhat incoherent but i think the language barrier contributed to that a little bit. Some people had the opportunity to ask him questions; some were good but most of them focused on political events :( I just wanted to hear him tell everyone they didn't actually exist! ;)
Click to expand...

He fist-bumped the mayor of Buffalo. Yeah, he's just that cool.
 
I don't follow any religion but Buddhism is definitely the one I take most seriously. The only issue I have with it is their view on reincarnation.

I've been reading The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying and I'd recommend it to anyone. Very humbling read.
 
You shouldn't take all of Buddhism so literally, especially when words are often given false infliction/poor choice of words in English. I suggest reading/listening to some Alan Watts if you haven't already. I read the "Tibetan Book of Dying" which was the second or third translation of it and I found it to be quite a dry and tedious read, but that's just me.
 
Yes, most Buddhist texts when translated into English actually become anti-thesis of what they are supposed to convey.
 
ricardo08 said:
The only issue I have with it is their view on reincarnation.
Click to expand...

What's not to get? It's a model of a reality that is just. Everything else seems balanced, why not justice? Man does horrific, worldly acts but gets away unpunished. Reincarnation says not so and that he hurts no one but himself. It's really no different from other religion's judgement day and the argument of a just god.
 
The concept of reincarnation is by no means uniform throughout the different interpretations of Buddhism.
 
Oh, and thanks for the replies everyone.
i'm in the process of going clean from drugs right now and substance withdrawal has me a little scatter-brained :\
 
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