is there any kind of ritual thing you have to go through, to become a buddhist?? i mean, with christianity and judaism and other religons, they like to have a little ceremony to kind of induct you into their religon. is buddhism like that??? because, i myself believe in and follow alot of the buddhist teachings and beliefs, but have never really undergone any kind of ceremony to become a buddhist. would i still be considered a buddhist??? i mean, my family tried raising me as united christian, but i don't believe in it, and never really have. i researched buddhism and found myself very attracted to it, and it's way of life. ever since, i've tried to follow the buddha's teachings, and i try to meditate when i can, and i'm very mindful of my surroundings, and i respect and worship the earth i reside on. i just want to know if this makes me a buddhist, or not? thank you.
Well - it seems a bit arbirary to say that everyone is a Buddhist just through having been born...Unless you say they are all these other things too. But I think unless you were born into a Buddhist culture, and brought up as a Buddhist, then to qualify as a Buddhist, something else would be neccessary - perhaps just assent to the Buddha's teachings? Some attempt to follow them? A quest for enlightenment?
Well, I'm not sure if Trip meant that all beings are born Buddhist or that all beings have Buddha nature. It's a common conception, or thought in Buddhist philosophy that all sentient beings have Buddha nature. That is they all have the ability to become a Buddha. And by the same token, I suppose that from other religious views it could be considered that all beings have the nature of the diety of choice ... I suppose. However, I have a suspicion that they don't feel that way. I tried once to reason with several Christians who profess that God is everywhere and in all things that this means they have the nature of God within them, but they always refute that although this may be true it doesn't mean that he is inside them. Not sure if all Christians share the same school of thought on this matter, and then again it doesn't really matter. The one thing that will turn the face of a Christian red with anger is to say that they have the ability to become God ... fact is, they already are ... they are just too blinded by their own attachments to self to see anything but their selves. This is not something I say everyone has to believe, nor is it something I say anyone has to believe. Darrell
That wouldn't make them Buddhists though! Hinduism says the Divine is in everything. So there is agreement there. Also that this can be realized.
I agree ... but then ... I never really said they were. That was Trip's saying, but like I said, I'm not sure if he meant to say Buddhists or Buddha Nature ... only he can clarify that. Darrell
I guess I meant the Buddha nature. I didn't mean that by being born one was automatically part of Buddhist culture, replete with traditions and all that. Isn't everyone searching for enlightenment, in one way or another, even if they don't realize it?
I would say that everyone is already illuminated, just with different colors and intensities. Some people appear dark because they are not as illuminated as I am, or my partial spiritual blindness does not let me see their color as well as others. Some people, you can talk to them, and then you talk to another person and the person seems dark cuz of how illuminated the first person was. So, in other words, don't judge someone after you read something I write...
I'm in pretty much the same boat as you man, basically started reading up on Buddhism when I was 14/15 and since then have read quite a bit and try to implement it in my daily life. I don't think there is any iniation as it were, just keep doing as your doing, maybe try to find a master.
it depends what liniage of buddhism you practice and under what tradition. I practice and am part of the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. of course you can practice buddhism easily without any sort of ceremony but to recieve some teachings you need to have taken what is known as 'refuge' this is basically a teaching given to you by a lama or Rinpoche who has had the teachings passed down to them in turn. the idea is that all the teachings you recieve can be traced back directly to the Buddha, which is why such an emphasis has been put upon it. When you take refuge you take refuge in the buddha-the teacher/ guru, the Dharma- the teachings, and the Sangha-the community of practicioners. when you go for refuge you recite the refuge prayer with the Rinpoche and he cuts a piece of your hair-this symbolises giving up attatchments, and you recieve a blessing and a 'Dharma name'. the significance of taking refuge is that it is a commitment you are making, by saying that buddhism is the path you have chosen to follow and to assist other beings along the way. you sould only take refuge if you have done research into what you really believe in. one you have taken refuge you are allowed to participate in more difficult practices and prayers which you in turn recieve more teachings for when you are ready. hope this has helped, sorry if any of the inof is wrong, buts its all i know from my own experience of the kagyu tradition. i took refuge last year. N x
I am not surprised that the discussion immediately went so abtract as to be obtuse (that's sort of the "Buddhism in English" trademark), while no one has mentioned that there is definitely a ceremonial/initiatory passageway, at least in the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism, to becoming a Buddhist. It's called "taking refuge in the three treasures" of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and is performed under the auspices of a Teacher, Guru, Lama...whatever you want to call it... is this the "officiality" that you are seeking or at least inquiring about, inbloom?
oops...somehow, I missed the previous post...obviously due to lack of attentiveness, distracted by "self"
To be a Buddha means to be "Enlightened" but to live a Buddhist path, a spiritual path. is a decision that you have to make and ask your self “am I living a spiritual path, a Buddhist path” Every one is a Buddha, you just need to be reborn into a new awakening. It is also important to have a teacher find you or you find a teacher. some say this is not important but to truly understand the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. and to always go for refuge to the 3 jewel's.. Buddha Jewel, dharma jewel, and sangah jewel. There is much to learn and to follow but, that dose not mean u cant find your own path as a Buddhist with out a teacher... Though for me I am a foundation student at the Bodhichitta Buddhist Center, my teacher is Kelsang Chondzin. I study Kadampa Buddhism to the liberating path to enlightenment (Lamrim).
