Buddhism

[white chick]

Hi guys,

Let me start off by saying I was born Catholic and was baptised as a baby. I also recieved my first communion. Anyways, I had a few questions a buddhism and I was hoping someone could answer them for me, please. :)

With reincarnation, when you die and come back do you have any memories of your past life?

Are there any special rituals you need to perform to become a buddhist?

What do you do at a buddhist temple? Is it similar to church where you have a priest over a congregation speaking?

If you can't go to a temple to practice buddhism, what can you do at home?



I can't think of anymore questions now, but if I do I will ask :)

P.S. I've looked on the internet about buddhism but I havent found many good sites. Can anyone recommend some good sites or some good books as well please? Thanks

[danielle86]

well.. i not really very sure.. as my teacher in sch say.. buddhism is not a religion.. is the teaching on how you live in life. be a good person.. blah blah blah..
when we recarnate, we don't really remember the past life.. (if we do.. i shall remember now..) its says that depends on what u did in ya life.. den when u die... lots of explanations..
when go to temple.. we will pray.. meditate..
i think u can go to see at the temple wat they really did or find out in website..

[Moebius]

With reincarnation, when you die and come back do you have any memories of your past life?
That shouldn't be the case, although I'm a bit unsure. In reincarnation, you only bring your karma with you -- your deeds in your past life are brought to your present.

Are there any special rituals you need to perform to become a buddhist?
No. As danielle86 has said, Buddhism is sometimes not even considered a religion, but a philosophy. A very beautiful philosophy. Meditation supposedly helps you achieve enlightenment, but there is no particular rules you have to adhere to in order to become a Buddhist.

What do you do at a buddhist temple? Is it similar to church where you have a priest over a congregation speaking?
A temple is supposedly to spread Buddhism/answer questions regarding Buddhist concepts. However, since Chinese people have a tradition (Chinese beliefs, separate and not related to Buddhism) to offer incense sticks to pay respects to the dead, many Chinese Buddhists go to temples to pay their respects to Buddha.

If you can't go to a temple to practice buddhism, what can you do at home?
You don't have to go to the temple to practice Buddhism. :wink2:
I suggest you get a copy of the tripitaka, or another good book that explains the concepts of Buddhism.



P.S. I've looked on the internet about buddhism but I havent found many good sites. Can anyone recommend some good sites or some good books as well please? Thanks
http://www.buddhanet.net
That's a very good site about Buddhism. Start with the "Basic Buddhism" page; the article "Good Questions, Good Answers" is a very good article for beginners in Buddhism.

Also, I happened to be at a bookstore this morning, and there was a book called "Dummy's Guide to Buddhism" which is quite good as well.

[scarletwillow]

Buddhism I think is one of the more flexible religions.
You can take it as either a religion or lifestyle.

There are also three main sects of Buddhism... one sect, for instance, worships Buddha as a god while the other two don't.

Hmm, the two people above put it pretty well I think ^_^

[Pugwash]

I'm a Buddhist because my parents are and well, I wanted to know more about Buddhism because I only inherited the religion through my parents, not based on my beliefs. Upon reading from the site posted, http://www.buddhanet.net , I thought Buddhism was a nice religion because it was a way of life, taught through experience.


If you can't go to a temple to practice buddhism, what can you do at home?



From the website, http://www.buddhanet.net , you can practice meditating at home. It really helps the way your brain works, to develop it and strengthen it.

Here is the direct links: http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/qanda06.htm

If you try it, it's actually really hard.

[feixuan]

I m buddhism, but i hardly join buddhism activities such as go to the temple or anything. I just know that i believe in Buddha, i believe in myself, I respect my parents and also i respect everyone. Everything ll turn back to you in this life. If you did anything wrong or harmful to anyone, it ll turn back to you someday. Thats what i believe, so thats why i try to treat everyone else as equal and nice.
Anyway I feel so sorry that i cant remember how to pray, but i know that thats not wrong at all.

anyway the answer above is quite clear for you white chick, i think

[jes!]

well, my family's a combination of catholic and Buddhist.. for me it's a belief, tradition and a way of living too.. so we practice both catholicism and buddhism there are a lot of buddhist occassions actually..every month i think.. everyday we're asked to light incense on the altar. i think buddhism has a lot of great philosophies too. there are also times that we eat vegetarian food which is not a big prob for me since i love them..

[ekyec]

i'm a catholic but my family is buddhism n they follow 'dao', n my dad reads these books that teach you i guess philosphies n stories. they also go to this place, where other buddhist sit n listen to people talk about 'dao' n they explain things in life n how we should act/live..
usually, heaps of chinese families have a little atlar they set up with little statues of buddha's n other holy people they believe in, and an incense thingo, that they have in their homes, usually near the front door. And they offer food n stuff to the gods.
and buddhist also like to be vegetarian[sometimes vegan as well] coz they dont wanna kill living things. n my family always tells me to pray using incense to the buddha's before i leave to camp or something, as they'll protect me. buddhism is also incorporated into basically chinese funeral customs n special calendar dates as well..so its basically in the lifestyle of someone chinese..

i think a buddhist temple is jus a place where you go to pray..not like church, where theres a preist n communion e.t.c.

i don't know anything about reincarnation, but doesn't this contradict what catholics believe?![as in we believe we go to heaven, n not to get reincarnated]

[Moebius]

i don't know anything about reincarnation, but doesn't this contradict what catholics believe?![as in we believe we go to heaven, n not to get reincarnated]
Buddhism is very flexible. Buddha was a human being, and he never claimed that everything he said was true. He often encouraged his disciples to test the credibility of his teachings for themselves, rather than just accepting everything he said blindly. Therefore, if you wanted to reject the concept of reincarnation, you can do so. Believing in reincarnation, by the way, is not an integral part of Buddhism.

The objective in Buddhism is to be free of suffering. Buddha said that suffering comes from craving and in order to get rid of suffering, you have to get rid of craving. And the way to do that is by following the 'Eightfold Path'. There is no mention of Gods, heaven, hell or reincarnation in the main concept of Buddhism. That said, it can therefore be observed that Buddhism and Catholicism are pretty much two different fields. The difference can be observed in the concepts of both of these religions. In Buddhism, the main objective is to be free of suffering as mentioned, while in Catholicism the aim is to get into Heaven/be one with God. Nobody said that you can't rid yourself of suffering while trying to get into heaven :P

However, it is true that some people have different opinions regarding this matter. And I may be wrong about this as well. :S It gets confusing, really.

I think it is also important to note that Science contradicts many of the major religions as well -- moreso than Buddhism does to them.

EDIT: After some thinking, I realised that it is totally wrong to say that there are no contradictions. I apologize for the mix-up. However, there are quite a few people who claim to be "Christian Buddhists", so before I come up with a conclusion, please disregard this matter for the time being.

[Jingle]

With reincarnation, when you die and come back do you have any memories of your past life?


You don't bring back any memories of your past life, but your actions and deeds done in your past life will reflect on your new life. For example, the good deeds you do this life could be returned to you in your new life and vice versa.

Buddhism promotes karma, one of the fundamentals of Buddhism. Karma gives each and every one of us equal opportunity.



Are there any special rituals you need to perform to become a buddhist?


There are many different types of Buddhism all across this world. I understand that there is a 5 precepts ceremony. And, the 5 precepts being:

1. abstaining from killing
2. abstaining from stealing
3. abstaining from sexual misconduct
4. abstaining from lying
5. abstaining from the use of intoxicating substances

Humanistic Buddhism involves practicing these 5 precepts in promoting a peaceful world.



What do you do at a buddhist temple? Is it similar to church where you have a priest over a congregation speaking?


Usually, people go to a Buddhist temple to say their prayers, to meditate, to chant, and to pay their respects to the Buddha.

A quote taken from www.fgs.org.tw explains why one chants:

"The aim of chanting is to cultivate one’s kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity through chanting in order to generate a pure and calm nature and create harmony and happiness for a pure land on earth."



If you can't go to a temple to practice buddhism, what can you do at home?


Actually, you don't need to go to a temple to practice Buddhism, as Humanistic Buddhism is practiced daily during your daily routines.

[amdawn]

Buddhism when it spread throughout Asia is broken into two vehicles, the Mahayana and the Thervada. The more well known one is the Mahayana which is known to the Chinese and Japanese (zen). The other one I believe is prevalent in Thailand. I think that the practice of Buddhism is to achieve nirvana, enlightment, a state where one is never reborn again and thus one eradicates suffering. To live is to suffer so the practice of mediation and controlled outlook alleviates suffering. When you desire something and you don't get it, you suffer. Basically if one desires nothing, one does not suffer. So practicing Buddhism is a way of recognizing the various sources of suffering and dealing with it in certain manner. Like someone mention above, the eightfold path.

Buddha-Sakyamuni was actually born into a wealthy family and his family protected him from seeing the real world. When he came across various facets of life, like sickness, old age, death, he was struck by it and became a wanderer to explore a spiritual path.

I think the paying of respect to ancestors/elders is more of Confucian idea than a Buddhist one. A son obeys his father. His father obeys his grandfather. A child respects his parents.

I think Buddhism is very pliable. It can work in conjunction with other religion because it is not so god-centered. In a way, it is a method to cultivate to harmony within oneself.

It is neat to read the responses so far. Do you think asian civilization has been more peaceful as a result of Buddhism as opposed to Christianity?

[manda_hoon]

I think u have to be baptise to be a buddist. Cos all my cousin who r buddist have gone through baptism. They had to eat vegetarian for don't know how many days...

[petheads]

I think u have to be baptise to be a buddist. Cos all my cousin who r buddist have gone through baptism. They had to eat vegetarian for don't know how many days...

Actually, no. Baptism is "a Christian religious ceremony in which a person is touched or covered with water to make him pure and show that he has been accepted as a member of the Church.", as defined in my dictionary and most other sources that I've checked. Or it can also be defined as a religious ceremony in which water is used to make people pure.

Becoming a Buddhist is an acceptance of the teachings of the Buddha. It's more of a mind thing, and not an "action-based" acceptance, like eating vegetables for a no. of days. The quote below on how one can become a Buddhist is taken off the book "Good Question, Good Answer" by Venerable S. Dhammika that Moebius recommended earlier:

You would formally become a Buddhist by taking the Three Refuges....Taking Refuge in the Buddha is a confident acceptance of the fact that one can become fully enlightened and perfected just as the Buddha was. Taking Refuge in the Dhamma means understanding the Four Noble Truths and basing one's life on the Noble Eightfold Path. Taking Refuge in the Sangha means looking for support, inspiration and guidance from all who walk the Noble Eightfold Path.

[aznbballer]

hiz, i'm a buddhist and my grandma is a monk and lives in the temple in vietnam.
as petheads said, its not an action type of thing. it is the teaching of living. wot i lyk about being a buddhist is that it has no boundarys or rules that u must perform. Of course u have to pray to buddha once in a while.
there are different types of buddhism people perform. For instance my grandma is currently a vegertarian. My mother would probably take after her when she becomes a widow. As u can see, my family are devoted buddhist.
i'm a buddhist and i didn't need to go through baptism.

[kewlpiggy88]

does anybody do tzu chi?

i've only been in the high school youth group for a couple of months, and so far they just teach morals and ethics, like how to treat people and not do drugs, etc. my grandma is really buddhist and i guess i always kind of was because my dad's not religious at all but we always had buddhist statuettes around the house and buddha beads (is that what they're called? it's like a bracelet). yeah, my mom lately has been more buddhist cuz like every morning she "nian jin" and we watch Da Ai television programs, which tzu chi produces to get people to join tzu chi or be better persons or something.

anyway, i know people who do tzu chi and they're christians so i guess in buddhism your religion doesn't matter..it's just how you live that matters.

[Jingle]

i'm a buddhist and i didn't need to go through baptism.

The correct term should be Taking Refuge and not baptism (which is used in Christianity).

One does not need Take Refuge in order to be a Buddhist. A believer in Buddhism and whom practices Humanistic Buddhism can be Buddhist.

[white chick]

Wow thanks guys for the replies! :) I'm reading "8 mindful steps to happiness: the buddhas path" now. It's a really good book about meditation,4 Noble Truths, and the Eightfold Path if anyone wanting to learn about buddhism is interested.

[neena]

Wow...i never knew there were lots of buddhist ppl in this forum. i'm not buddhist...but i like wat they teach. I'm a shamanist...ppl are sometimes confused on wat that is...shamanists are ppl who believe in the spiritual world. yeah...well i'm glad to learn more about buddhism...

[vicks]

i'm buddhist because i kinda inherited it from my parents. i really wished i have more knowledge of it since i don't really get to go to temples and stuff in the US. it's actually why i like taking vaccations in taiwan cuz i can get in touch my with more asian side. i think my now tho, buddhism has become such a general term cuz a lot of "buddhist" teachings are actually confusian (as someone mentioned above) and i think a lot of ppl consider daoist teachings to be buddhist now a days. my friend told me at chi tzi, they actually have a picture of jesus there which i thought was really cool cuz it teaches tolerance more than any other religion i know.

[neena]

:hmm: excuse me...but can you clarify wat you said about jesus?...you jumped from one religion to another... i'm in a way confused. sorry to bother you.

[vicks]

oh.. i was just mentioning how at chi tzi they had a picture of jesus there. so unlike christianity which teaches that other religions are wrong and the only way you'll get saved is to believe in jesus, buddhism tolerates all religions and allows everyone to believe in other gods.

[HaNaBi]

Hi guys,

Let me start off by saying I was born Catholic and was baptised as a baby. I also recieved my first communion. Anyways, I had a few questions a buddhism and I was hoping someone could answer them for me, please. :)

With reincarnation, when you die and come back do you have any memories of your past life?

Are there any special rituals you need to perform to become a buddhist?

What do you do at a buddhist temple? Is it similar to church where you have a priest over a congregation speaking?

If you can't go to a temple to practice buddhism, what can you do at home?



I can't think of anymore questions now, but if I do I will ask :)

P.S. I've looked on the internet about buddhism but I havent found many good sites. Can anyone recommend some good sites or some good books as well please? Thanks

Just to give you a little history of Buddism: Buddism Originated from India, around 4000 years ago, a few monks from India went East to China and Started to spread the words of Buddism. That was how Buddism started in China. And around 3000-2500 years ago, China spread Buddism back to India. And that was how "Journey to the West" was created. And it was a true story, but the monsters and demons were added to make it more magical. And the monk did actually retrieved not just one sutra but about 500 sutras back to China. But in between this rich 4000 + years History, there were many big setbacks and breaks in between....too long to say too much to tell....

There is no "complete" book that explain what is buddism at all, it's unlike Christian or catholic where you have a bible that have almost everything in it. Buddism is a religion. But lilke all other religions, Buddism also teaches people how to be good, doing good deeds, not doing things which are against the moral of humans and also not taking lives (meaning being a vegetarian).

There are a million and one books talking about how to a buddists etc. How to be good, doing good deeds etc. So, Buddism isn't just a "one book" religion. And because Buddism, has over 4000 years of history, it's almost impossible to include all the teachings of past Great Sagas into one book.

Actually in Buddism's belief of Reincarnation. There are 6 tunnels called "Liu Dao Lun Hui". Each tunnel has different reincarnation, mainly Insect, Ghost, Animals, Humans, God & Fairies. Which tunnel you go to depends on what you did in your current life. If you do more good than bad, you will probably go to the Human or Fairy tunnel, or even other tunnels, which all depends on what you did.

It is said that to enter the "Human Tunnel" you will need to accumulate good deeds of about 100 life times. So, it's not very easy to reincarnate as a human. As it is stated in a Sutra that Human is the closet being to the Gods...

There are actually scientific proofs that we actually have traces of what we were in our previous lives, but these "memories" are locked away deep in our brain. That is why sometimes we might have dreams of us being in another world of another time, that might be traces of us in our previous lives. And there are also cases of people who have complete memories of what they were in their previous few lives. I have seen these articles somewhere over the Internet, but I've forgotten the websites.
Most people's impressive of converting to Buddism is going to a temple, perform a ritual where the person must shave etc. Well that's one of the few ways to be a buddism.

In a Buddism Temple, we give offerings, donate money and pay tribute to the Great Buddahs and Goddness. We can also help to clean the Temple up, help cook vegetarian food and even recite sutras. The sutra is said to be able to calm ones' mind if you concentrate.

Different from a christian church and Catholic church is that we Buddism promote self-actualisation. We do not have things like a pastor or priests whom we can speak to if we have done something wrong. Though if we really have done something wrong, we can always speak to the Gods and Goddnesses or even speak to the monks there. And mostly their replies will be telling us to do more good deeds

As I've said before that since Buddism is more focus on self-actualisation. What we can do at home is a thing called "mediation". Mediation is a practice, where we try to clear our mind of thoughts and have a "vaccum" in our mind. Another way to practise is being a vegetarian, read up more sutras, understand the meaning behind those phrases and put them into practise. Or every morning spend 5-10 mins to connect with God, speak to them, share with them your joy and sorrow.

Same goes for other religions. It's not necessary that only when you go to a church or temple then you practise the religion.

Confusian or commonly Known as "Kong Zhi" is actually the teaching of Confusionism or so-called "Lu Jia Si Xiang". Where the teachings speaks of how a person should be, how a father, a mother, a child should be. How man should act and how woman should be. Confusian teachings are actually divided into 5 sectors, though his teachings were actually 600% more than what is available now, due the fact that most of his teachings were burnt during Qin Dynasty. But most of his teachings were actually recorded by his later disciplines. The 5 sectors make up the teaching of Confusian. And you can actually find alot of these teachings in countries like Soouth Korean.

Daoist isn't Buddism at all. it's the practice of Ying and Yang, to strike a balance. Or in Buddism it's so called the "Zhong Yong Zhi Dao". Daoist is founded by Lao Zhi and his most famous writing is the "Da Xue Zhi Dao", which actually, if you read through it, it has the teaching of Ying & Yang in it.

But alot of people are getting "confused", because alot of books are mixing things up, and thus creating an illusion that Daoist and Confusianism are actually part of Buddism, which is not.

Daoism is the practice to strike a balance between Ying and Yang and thus through it, gain enlightenment.

Confusian is the practice of how Humans should behave, how everything should be, and thus through it gain enlightenment.

But all in all, all religions focus on one thing: To gain self-actualization and enlightment.

[LPx31]

Actually, Buddhism isn't a religion. It's a philosophy. Everybody gets it messed up as a religion. But they're wrong. I don't know why it's a philosophy if we pray to a higher being. It's kinda like other religions. Buddhism teaches you how to do good deeds, and teaches you how to reach a point where you don't desire. That's when you have complete karma (I don't know if that's the right word for it). When you reach karma, you get reincarnated. That's what I remembered from temple school. eh heh. :sweat:

[HaNaBi]

oh.. i was just mentioning how at chi tzi they had a picture of jesus there. so unlike christianity which teaches that other religions are wrong and the only way you'll get saved is to believe in jesus, buddhism tolerates all religions and allows everyone to believe in other gods.

Seadream86, I have to disagree with your post about how Christian "discriminate" other religions, in order to avoid any conflicts of people saying that you're being racist. That is only happening now, due to all these insults and discriminations of other religions, where they say how fake other religions are, that onli theirs is the only true. I feel very sad at how shallow these people are. Actually all religions are flexible, they incorporate and practice the teachings from different religions, it's just up to you whether you wanna incorporate what's right into your belief.

Though there is the Muslim who doesn't believe in God, but they do believe in the Creator of the Universe, which is the same as "The Father" of Christ, the Karma of Buddism and the "Mother" of Catholic.

And there was a post regarding "Dao" (I think was made by Ekyec), which is actually the "Way of Life", i'm actually practicing that just FYI. It incorporates the teachings of many religions into our learnings. Every 1st and 15th day of the Lunar month calendar, we'll make our way to these "Small altars" set up in homes, and we'll celebrate, make offerings and make incenses offerings to the Gods. These Gods are actually like Models for us to follow, due to their teachings during their lifetime. Then after the offerings and celebration, we'll sit down at a corner of the house and listen to a Speaker who will talk about the topic of the day, regarding how to cultivate the "Way", etc things...

[vicks]

ok i probably should have mentioned in my comment about how Christians believe other religions are wrong that that was a comment someone who was trying to convert told me. I personally don't know that much about Christianity except what i learned in history and english class. However, I asked that person if in Christianity, they thought other religions were wrong and they said yes. So that's where my comment came from.

[HaNaBi]

AH! I see I see. Then it's not your fault at all. I have been approached by people from Christian many times, and alot of times they actually critise other religions, and many times I was so pissed off that I simply just spit in their faces, saying that they ain't fit to even have a belief. such as "INsulting other religions is as good as insulting Jesus.", "How would Jesus feel if he know that his fellow brothers & sisters are out there on the streets insulting other religions, just to get them to join."

All religions emphasis on peace on earth, cultivating Nirvana and spreading the goodness of God, Jesus, The Creator of the Universe or Buddha. Why must there be people out there insulting other religions? Sigh.... it's such a pity....

ANother back to Buddism

[neena]

HaNaBi, you took the words out of my mouth! I absolutely agree/believe wat you've just stated! :-) :-)

[vicks]

oh i totally agree with you hanabi. actually, the girl who told me other religion was wrong was actually citing the bible! i could not believe that. i was boiling mad i couldn't even talk! my favorite idea to believe in actually came from the book "mist of avalon" which is a twist of the king arthur legend and they basically said that all religions are one and the same but just with different names. i totally love that idea.

[HaNaBi]

Well, seadream98 you're kinda right about all religions being as one but just under a different name. And if you do read the first 7 chapters of Bible, you'll realised that actually humans were actually vegetarians in the beginning and most of them will live till about 500-800 year old.

I've heard about the book "Mist of Avalon", but never have the time to find the book over here in Singapore, as currently I'm quite busy with Real Life and knida unable to find some time to read books, which is a pity....

But anyway, if you are interested in Buddism, I would recommend easy-to-read books that are easier to understand rather than you begin with those very philopsical books and unable to understand what the heck they are talking about...

[phoebe]

hanabi "All religions emphasis on peace on earth, cultivating Nirvana and spreading the goodness of God, Jesus, The Creator of the Universe or Buddha. Why must there be people out there insulting other religions? Sigh.... it's such a pity.... "
true . every believer thinks his /hers religion is the only true one and even tries to race the flag of religion against religion . many who pratice buddhism also incoporate taoism , confuscianism , shamanism into the pratice . personally , i think buddhism is very tolerant as anyone can be born a buddhist and freely change to another religion and then change back again anytime . i know for muslims - you cannot change your religion at all .
personally i believe that all religions should allow everyone the freedom to question , deny and receive its' faith anytime . there's a saying ' pure gold is never afraid of the most fiery heat ". when something is wonderful - the doors can remain open and all can come and go freely( and more who went will return with faith renewed and strengthened ) instead of having the door bolted and the doubters squashed and rediculed .
i am a born buddhist and i read bible , koran and have attended church weddings and christian get togethers , bowed my head when passing mosques and thinks the muslims tenets are great too . but i am remain buddhist by choice now - i like the idea of being free to remain one or change to another religion without fear .

[htruc]

Really? Buddhism is a philosophy and not a religion? I thought Confuscianism was a philosophy but Buddhism??? There are so many kinds of Buddhism I do kind of get mixed up. I know Buddhsim is a lot similar to Hinduism. And what is Shinto? I know it's from Japan, is it similar to Buddhism, too?

Am I considered a Buddhist if I don't pray everyday? Or if I don't become a vegetarian during the 1st and 15th day of the lunar calendar? What does it mean to be a Buddhist?

I have a question about Buddhism. How is women affected socially, economically and politically in Buddhism, in the past and present? Are they treated fairly? Can women be a monk like other men? Like in the religion, Islam, women there are covered from head to toe and are not treated equally like men and are not allowed to vote, but here in Canada they get to vote.

My group and I have chosen Buddhism as our project in our World Religions class. And it is about women and religion. Plus I cannot really find a good site about women in Buddhism, if anybody knows a good site can you tell me?

[petricia]

Really? Buddhism is a philosophy and not a religion? I thought Confuscianism was a philosophy but Buddhism??? There are so many kinds of Buddhism I do kind of get mixed up. I know Buddhsim is a lot similar to Hinduism.

Well.. i think Buddhism can be a philosophy to many people and yet at the same time it is a religion. Okie.. i dunno about Hinduism but Buddhism came from India, so i guess that's the reason for similities. Okay this is from my lecturer (just finished the exam on religion today).. for the last part of his lectures, he was saying about religion being "popularised and personalised"... Meaning: nowadays, people looked at Buddhism as something that they follow but yet, they dun really practice its doctrines and theology... I guess, that the way people sees it as a philosophy.

what is Shinto? I know it's from Japan, is it similar to Buddhism, too?

Haha... Great mistake.. (no mocking intended! :-) ) I mean they are real similar right? This is because of the Tokugawa regime (can be considered as the last dynasty of Japan).. :bleh: anyway, one thing to note for sure... Shinto is not Buddhism. it is something unique to Japanese. it is instinctively Japanese. but because of political reasons during the tokugawa regime, it was nelgected while Buddhism was very highly regarded as the state religion. This means that for 200 years, Shinto was overshadowed by Buddhism in its native country. the Shinto now, i would see it as a fusion between Buddhism and Shinto. The structure is in gist is copied after the Buddhist structure, kinda evolved after the Meiji restoration.

Am I considered a Buddhist if I don't pray everyday? Or if I don't become a vegetarian during the 1st and 15th day of the lunar calendar? What does it mean to be a Buddhist??

this depends on one's beliefs. People have different ideas of what makes a Buddhist. To the Japanese branch of Buddhism called Nichiren (branched out into several sects in Japan) just chanting faithfully and sincerely a verse from the Lotus sutra will make you a Buddhist... so... it differs for individual. :dry: (am i being useful here??)

I have a question about Buddhism. How is women affected socially, economically and politically in Buddhism, in the past and present? Are they treated fairly? Can women be a monk like other men? Like in the religion, Islam, women there are covered from head to toe and are not treated equally like men and are not allowed to vote, but here in Canada they get to vote.

Women can be a nun for sure... but i am not so sure about them being treated unequally or not... My research is more on religion's impact for the govt. in China and Japan... So ... sorry.. can't help... :wacko:

My group and I have chosen Buddhism as our project in our World Religions class. And it is about women and religion. Plus I cannot really find a good site about women in Buddhism, if anybody knows a good site can you tell me?

I dunno of any good sites.. so sorry.. but i would recommend you to look for books and articles in your school library.. usually they are more 'trustworthy'... u dun want to be mislead and in the end got a grade that's not worth of your effort... i guess that's all i can help...

P.S. you may be interested that during the Ming dynasty, most women and eunuches were pious Buddhists and very often, it was because of this reason that men often "discredited" them... of course many other reasons were involved, such as Confucianism, which indicated that things involving women and eunuches were not worthy of use... :brows:

Well.. that's all i can do... :wave:

if you think that i can be of some more help, feel free to msn or email me... :bleh:

[pyre]

I consider myself buddhist even though I dont do practices and all that. I just know that Buddha loves me and everyone even if they are not Buddhist and all we want is peace and serenity.

I was feeling really down recently, I had panic attacks aswell, but I just said to myself, Buddha loves you and he is giving you this task to overcome to become a stronger and better person.

Don't get me wrong, I am not what people call a religious nut, I just want to have faith and not be negative, you know? Share the love! Buddha loves YOU!!