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In case you’re wondering where I’ve been for the last two weeks, I’ve been at a Buddhist retreat center dodging Christmas and New Year. I’ve been to this place a few times, but never as an active church member.
For:
* I enjoy going on retreat, and think Mormonism really misses this idea. Temple approaches it, but not completely.
* They had an excellent library and I always get to do a whole lot of reading because there’s no TV around and plenty of time. I read War and Peace one year.
* I wasn’t allowed to use the internet (although I did cheat once or twice with my phone.)
* No Christmas dinner arguments.
* I appreciate meditation generally, but for one reason and another such as my medication and cough, it wasn’t easy this time.
* Got massive creative inspiration.
* I get exercise and sunlight, which helps with my depression.
Against:
* Didn’t appreciate the single sex environment. I miss having women around, and not mainly as sex objects, but as half the human race!
* Skipped puja, their worship service all but once. Does nothing for me.
* We had ten days silence! I get that at home. I prefer to socialize.
* Some of the folk suffered from anti-Christian prejudices.
* We had short work periods – which I’m all in favor of, as it keeps the price down, but some people missed these.
Buddhism is interesting in many ways, but I do feel that there are many, many unbridgeable gaps between it and Mormonism. Family sealing, for example, and our concepts of the afterlife are so far removed from theirs. The aim of Buddhism is not just to make a nice person, and I think a lot of people miss that.
Quote:The aim of Buddhism is not just to make a nice person, and I think a lot of people miss that.
Sam I would love to know more about Buddhism and it’s objectives. I find the meditation, the 8 fold path, the four truths very uplifting and purposeful in my day to day life. Can you tell me more about their long term purposes?
Thanks.
One of them is non-attachment, again very different to Mormonism. Really getting away from not just material possessions, but attachment to people, to family etc as part of impermanence (again, radically difference from our stuff about eternity) Buddha upped and left his wife and son for example…. Another difference is that we believe men are that they might have joy. Buddhism sees the world as dukkha and samsara i.e. suffering.
Nirvana now, that’s a really complex idea, and not like heaven at all.
As regards specifics, there are a number of varieties of Buddhism and they differ quite a bit.
I would love to do this. Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Yeah, it was good. I think it really depends where you go to. The retreat center I went to was easy going. Some make you wake up at 4:30 in the morning and wouldn’t allow one to read novels…
SamBee, it sounds like a great experience but also very different then what I would do durning Christmas. I would love to see some pictures but I imagine that pictures are against the rules. Are there rules in Buddhism? It sound different then what we are used to but I hope it was a growing experience for you. Rules in Buddhism? Sure. There’s the moral stuff, most of which we have in common, but there was also a prohibition on meat. (Well I suppose we’re supposed to eat it “sparingly”). The rules against smoking, drinking, drugging and sex on retreat weren’t exactly hard – I’m living that already. As for Christmas – I love carols and all the Christian stuff, it’s the commercial rubbish I can’t stand. Santa for one!
Here are the five precepts Buddhists live by (in OT terms) –
* Thou shalt not kill/take life – which includes animals.
* Thou shalt not steal (take without consent)
* Thou shalt not bear false witness.
* Thou shalt not drink fermented liquor.
There are also rules about sexual misconduct and the rules for monks are much stricter.
I’m discovering some of the joys of Buddhism. Although I have sporadically meditated since college (I’m now near retirement), it has never really stuck. But recently I discovered the book “Buddha Standard Time” by Lama Sury Das, which explains some of the techniques and describes some of the outcomes a newby can appreciate. It presents a very secular (i.e. pragmatic) approach to meditation that should not challenge any religionists and especially Mormons who ascribe to the 13th article of faith. The main difference IMO is that Mormonism emphasizes the doing of life, while Buddhism focuses on being alive, two very compatible values. I am learning to pay more attention to the world around me without being so entangled in its melodrama. I find I am driving more safely, getting more done in my day, and I am even enjoying church more. What’s not to like?
It sounds like a neat experience.
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