I am Agnostic, but am very spiritual.

Lately, I have noticed a lot of my beliefs and such seem to be similar to Buddhist beliefs, except Buddhism is a religion, with rules as things, and I don't believe in that shit. This is why i have come to &T for help...

Can someone give me links to good sites or explain the gist of Buddhism and the practices that people consider almost synonymous with Buddhism?

To be more specific, I am interested more in the meditation aspect of things, but I would also like some background info on everything...don't worry about that last part though, I can just read wikipedia for the less important things.

Anyway, thanks for any help you guys can give to a curious person who doesn't really know where to start.

I My friend masturbates, but never orgasms/comes because he is scared he will end up in hell for eternity if he does. His parents forced this upon him, and they claim they are Buddhist, but that's not Buddhism, is it? That's just a big scare campaign, largely influenced by Christianity.

Jesus says that adultery is committed in your mind. So whether you come or not you are still going to Hell if you don't confess+repent/accept Christ as your personal lord and saviour.

The whole Catholic no birth control thing supposedly originates from the story of Onac spilling his seed and not impregnating his dead brother's wife but his sin could either be wasting sperm or disobeying God. One is more likely than the other.

There are lots of sect of Buddhists, some of them believe weirder stuff than others. Sounds like it might be Hindu influenced. With tantric training you can apparently have an orgasm without the ejaculation. I think it has some religious significance.

I'm pretty sure that masturbation is traditionally seen as a roadblock to the path to enlightenment. However, AFAIK, the result of not achieving enlightenment is reincarnation; not something analogous to the Christian hell.

That said, I have heard of some pretty weird Buddhist sects, some even taking in aspects of Christianity, so I suppose it's possible your friend's parents belong to such a sect.

I'd like to point out that one of the techniques in Tantric teachings are to push on the perenium ( i think) or the area below the scrotum. This blocks the flow of semen.... youre still ejaculating but the semen doesnt come out essentially.

The whole anti-masterbation thing is stupid bullshit used to control people.

Lol, I am going to edit my first post and take out the bit about masturbation, because it really isn't what my thread is about...

Can we please get back on topic.

I guess I have a different view on Buddhism, after having taken a serious, serious, dedication of meditation. I understood it as the result of many other men's meditations. They found ways for themselves - journeying out on their own to find truth. As they went along, they gathered intense experiences that have since been popularized. Many people try to FOLLOW these truths for one individual, but they fail. It was that which lead me back into Christianity. I was just falling back to an old belief. I put more thought into it though, and eventually made my way to atheism. I didn't stop with a disbelief though; my way of life was to continuously explore new thought, new trials. I learned a lot about people. I used a ton of energy just ripping through the world, and I was still left unsatisfied with my results. It was then, that I found that desire IS a cause of pain. This led me to Buddhism, so I tried it out. I found that while removing desire loses pain, it also loses pleasure.

Being part of the 'living dead' wasn't quite my cup of tea, so I kept on journeying through thoughts and experiences. I eventually started to examine a different question than before: What is existence?

Well, frankly, you just can't fucking know. Damn, I tried to put that together, but there's just no fucking answer. No matter what idea you come up with, there are still questions left unanswered. It was then that I thought about other people. I saw ways of life that did serious damage, and I examined them. I even lived one for a couple years, to get a fair taste of destruction. It was here, that I realized I was being selfish. It was from then on that I also realized all my actions were selfish - no matter what I gained for myself, it would come at another's expense. I decided to quit gaining for myself - my satisfaction somehow comes from this. My mind has been contemplating as of late though, whether my satisfaction would continue if by my own gains I somehow were able to give MORE to other people than I take for myself. Right now, I'm in a bit of a meditation mode. I'm putting a lot of thought into this now, trying to figure out a way to somehow give more than I take. Every idea that crosses my mind though, somehow makes me the one most benefiting from any scenario I come to.

It is here, that I asked myself if there was anyone who could somehow escape reward for an action? There is none. I don't think there is one, anyways. No matter what you do, it is always a comforting device; even the act of giving up one type of comfort will bring another type. From here, I begin to think that life is built like a giant fucking hamster cage. We're doped by everything. From there, I think that life really makes no fucking sense. I always have a question, and the answers I find are always so unimportant to the question. Doubt arises, as to whether I should be asking different questions. So I try to ask a different one: What resulted in all choices being for pleasure? What creates selfishness?

Well, it appears that a want to survive creates selfishness. Then I ask, what creates a want to survive? Why, life itself! What creates life? Life! Whence came first life? From the earth. Earth? From the galaxy. Galaxies? From the universe. The universe? Well shit! We don't fucking know! Well damn, it had to be here forever, right? But shit, that betrays causation! Maybe it came from nothing? Nah, that's crazy shit just like magic. It makes no fucking sense. Maybe it was created? Well then, we have these same questions for its creator. And so on. I concluded here that no one knows. (http://www.last.fm/music/Queens+of+the+Stone+Age/_/No+One+Knows)

The only possibilities are logical mindfucks that make no damned sense. I call it a contradictory abstract; it either goes for infinity, magically appears, or goes into a constant regression where without an additional creator, a contradiction is created in both remaining choices. It seems as though existence itself is the only item in all of history that cannot be studied. We know nothing of purpose. We are ignorant of truth. We create our own purpose, we create our own truth...both a lie. But it's the only way to derive pleasure...despite it being the cause of our pain.

I think though, that it's okay I can't know a purpose, or the objective truth. I think it's okay that I have to create my own purpose, and discover my own truths. I'll always be wrong, but I can at least get close if I make sure my truths and purpose are educated by my experienced thoughts and travels.

That's Buddhism to me: Deep reflection for an answer. Even if your answer is that there isn't one.

Zen....

Yoga has some of the same principles of Buddhism, but it's not a religion. The goal of Yoga is enlighenment, as it is with Buddhism.

one great thing about buddhism is that you can believe what aspects you choose to believe. I like to call myself a buddhist, i meditate and try to be good etc, but i dont believe in reincarnation

"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense."

so if you dont agree with something then dont do it or believe in it

one great thing about buddhism is that you can believe what aspects you choose to believe.
In a way, though I think there are some essentials (the Four Noble Truths, perhaps). On the whole, though, I think this is right. Traditional Buddhism believes in things such as reincarnation, devas, and mysterious powers, but these aren't the core of the Buddha's teachings... and who knows, they might exist after all. :D

***

My mind has been contemplating as of late though, whether my satisfaction would continue if by my own gains I somehow were able to give MORE to other people than I take for myself. Right now, I'm in a bit of a meditation mode. I'm putting a lot of thought into this now, trying to figure out a way to somehow give more than I take. Every idea that crosses my mind though, somehow makes me the one most benefiting from any scenario I come to.
I don't think the issue is to stop yourself from benefiting, but rather to make sure you don't prevent others from benefiting. Take for yourself, as long as you don't take from others! Everyone can benefit, sometimes.

What about this scenario: You have a small amount of money. It doesn't mean much to you. You give it to a bum. It means a lot to him. You might be happy to help, but he'll be happier to receive. He will have benefited more, but you will not have lost, either.

I'll always be wrong
You might be wrong about that! :D

Look up local Buddhist communities in your phonebook or through google, try and speak to someone face to face.
I did, and decided that I wasn't prepared to be Bhuddist and wouldn't tarnish their name by only half committing myself.
That being said, wherever I go, I pick up practices, some of which stick and some of which don't.
It's your spirit. You must take ownership of it.

How can you be a Buddha and Buddhist at the same time?

How can anything fully ever exist, or not exist, if there is only change?


Sadness lies in ignorance, in attaching to that which is passing by, everything. A man insults you, and instead of remaining present and realizing, this suffering is never permanent, you become caught up in it.

Buddhism, what Buddha said, meditation, is about being in the present moment, free of all notions, thoughts, expectations. There are many techniques, such as rhythymic breathing, still gazing, visualization. The techniques are there, the ones these men used to see the truth, now the question lies on you, are you ready to experiment yourself?

They can be very powerful. Direct experience will remove any notions you have, it is that which you should seek, not dogma and ideas.

I always thought of Buddhism as a more way of life than a religion. Like someone said before one of Buddha's teachings says to question everything, even the Buddha. You can find your own path with or without the help of religion.

Alot of those rules aren't really 'religious' at all, they're just addons from various cultures who have written buddhist texts over the millenia. Bhudda himself never claimed to be anything but a man, you don't have to be religious to appreciate his ideas.

I always thought of Buddhism as a more way of life than a religion. Like someone said before one of Buddha's teachings says to question everything, even the Buddha.

Exactly. "When you meet the Buddha, slay him." The Buddha's teaching was one man's experience; everyone must find their own way to enlightenment. The Buddha once said (I'm paraphrasing here) that his teachings were like a finger pointing at the moon: so do not confuse the finger for the moon.

Also, I like this story:

A guy came to the Buddha in search of help and told him all of his problems. Once the guy was done, the Buddha said, "I can't help you." The guy replies, "what do you mean you can't help me, you're a wise teacher!" The Buddha replies, "Everyone has 84 problems. If you solve one, another takes its place. Even if you were to solve all of your problems, two would remain: 1)you're mortal and 2)everyone you love is going to die." Exasperated, the guy says, "Well, just what can you help me with?"

The Buddha says "Perhaps I have already helped you with the 85th problem: you don't want to have any problems."

:D

"Everyone has 84 problems..."

Interesting piece and all, but according to Jay-Z, he has 99.