lectures of buddhism

RyuJin wrote: He lived as an ascetic, punishing his body and eating only enough to stay alive, but found this did not bring him peace of mind. It was said that he had fasted to the point that when he sucked his stomach and touched his navel he could feel his backbone, this begs the question of where the image of the fat Buddha comes from.

Ooh, ooh! I know! *raises hand excitedly* I just researched this...the image of the fat Buddha, also known as the Laughing Buddha by the Chinese, is Maitreya Buddha, not Gautama Buddha, which is the Buddha talked about in Buddhism. It's a totally different person! This one's known as Budai! Huzzah for learning new things!

nicely done...not many know that there are/were more than 1 buddha...and that the word buddha simply means "enlightened one"....

recently i was thinking about the whole koran burning...then it occured to me that buddhism is the only world religion(other than jediism) that doesn't get bent out of shape over the destruction of a "sacred" object....in fact some old buddhist monks mistreat the statues as a means of teaching their students...

Why thank you! I've been doing my own research on Buddhism and it's amazing how frequently things like that get misinterpreted or misreported.

I agree, it's incredible that some religions get so uptight about "sacred" objects when, for example in Christianity, they are not permitted to create anything in the likeness of their god in his own ten commandments. And yet, were you to burn a crucifix, many Christians would be outraged. Hm. Since we don't really have sacred objects, I'm sure we all have things that we cherish which remind us of our faith. It wouldn't be the end of the world if they were destroyed, but they still contain personal and sentimental value. I suppose it's all in the eye of the beholder.

There is an interesting prophesy on Maitreya accepted by most Buddhist.

Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on Earth, achieve complete enlightenment and teach the pure dharma. According to scriptures, Maitreya will be a successor of the historic Sakyamuni Buddha. The prophecy of the arrival of Maitreya references a time when the Dharma will have been forgotten on all continents. It is found in the canonical literature of all Buddhist sects (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana), and is accepted by most Buddhists as a statement about an event that will take place when the Dharma will have been forgotten on Earth.

the creating of a mandala is a good lesson on impermanance...spend days or longer creating a beautiful work of art...all so you can let it be blown away by the wind...no sacred object lasts forever, no being lasts forever, not even ideas last forever....all things fade and vanish with time

I have always liked the concept of the mandala in Tibetan Buddhism.

I have been to McLeod Ganj in India, the home of the Dalai Lama and visited his temple. I saw Tibetan Buddhist monks going about their daily tasks and it was an experience I will never forget.

MTFBWY

This was an excellent bit of info. thank you

peace