Calling all Buddhists.

Just wondering if there are any Buddhists on this site, and if so what schools they belong to.

I myself am a follower of Buddhism, of the Thera-vada school. If I am correct I believe there is 2 more buddhist on this message board that follow the mahayana doctrine.

I converted from Christianity to Buddhism.

ok i'm not a religious person but buddhism DOES appeal to me.

anyone have any good links that i can check out about buddhism?

any suggestions on books?

The best Buddhist books I have, I have collected freely from their distributors on occasions like Lantern Festivals and Chinese New Year.

They are thoroughly researched, some not for the lay person, but they all make for enlightening reading.

BTW, I don't belong on this topic, I'm not a Buddhist but I respect much of their philosophy of inner development.

Originally posted by MaskedAvatar
The best Buddhist books I have, I have collected freely from their distributors on occasions like Lantern Festivals and Chinese New Year.

They are thoroughly researched, some not for the lay person, but they all make for enlightening reading.

lucky you. i like thoroughly researched books. i enjoy reading very much. time to hit the local bookstore i think...

I uphold many of the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism - though I'm not strictly Buddhist - I also uphold Taoist teachings. My religious beliefs are those of Jediism - The Jedi Religion.

Hello friends.

As far as book suggestions go, I would have to whole heartedly suggest: "What The Buddha Taught" by the Venerable Dr. Walpola Sri Rahula.

I most commonly recommend this book to people who ask for book suggestions, because out of all the books I have read on Buddhism, Dr. Walpola's books are by far the most accurate, and heart touching. Dr. Walpola is infact a Buddhist monk too! So I feel this accredits his work even more.

Time, and time again, I have read many western books by so called "PhD's", and I myself have found mistakes in the books. I am not talking of small mistakes, as well, I am talking of big mistakes, that can not be over looked. In one book I read the author (Who carries a PHD in the subject!) goes on to say that one of the monks of the Sangha, was merely a lay Buddhist!? Later on in the book the author goes on to tell the story of Pukkusati, when Pukkusati dies, the author simply states that he died, and was reborn as a human, and nothing more... Infact Pukkusati became an Arahant after he died!? This is a minor detail, that has a huge impact on the tale.

I also want to say this as well; Should you choose to read Dr. Rahula's book, I'd just like to say that the book sort of teaches more of the Theravada doctrine, than the Mahayana doctrine, allthough some Mahayana doctrine is included in it. You will find nothing about the Bardo.

If you have any questions, or would like more book suggestions, feel free to contact me.

I am still learning about buddhism, but have been an uneducated buddhist for a while. I do not follow any particular school, as I prefer to draw my own conclusions from siddartha's teachings.

XAOS

I have studied the subject but am certain there are those here who are more proficient with respect to the terms and specfics.

The time I spent leaning about it was one of the happiest in my life.

MA shame on you of course you belong

Have some links for those who are interested or for that matter in brushing up on the topic...

www.ciolek.com...

home.earthlink.net...

Bah, double post...

[Edited on 13-8-2003 by oui]

Hi, I am a Mahayana Buddhist, following the Tibetan Ganden or Gelug tradition. There are four main schools:
Nyingma, Gelug, Sakya, Kagyu. You can google to find out a little about each.

There are loads and loads of good Buddhist books out there. The wonderful thing is that you should be able to find a Buddhist path that appeals to you and feels right. Whether it be Zen, Tibetan, Theravadan Buddhism that you chose, what matters is that it is a path you feel you can follow.

My main early influence was Jack Kornfield's "A Path With Heart". Which has my highest recommendation because it is very non-sectarian.

Many people I know have cut their teeth on Sogyal Rinpoche's "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying". A beautiful book.

Also "Being Peace" by Thich Naht Hahn (spell?) is very popular.

Another recommendation detailing the guts of Buddhism and how to practise is "Transform Your Life" by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.

Other than that, check out www.BuddhaNet.net...

I have studied Buddha-Dharma for many years now - very Scientific Religion. Theravada is Orthodox - stresses "Salvation" for self. Mahayana is more Esoteric - Stresses Compassion - Therefore the Bodhisattvas work to Liberate other Sentient Beings before they enter Nirvana themselves.

You should always start off which the Dhammapada.

Interested in ZEN? Check out -> www.chancenter.org...

I'd like to think of myself as a partial buddhist (still partiall undecided about what religion I really fall into)

But I suggest reading "The Three Pillars of Zen" very informative and interesting read. It gives a real in depth and personal descriptions of things many would never know about.

whats a buhddist?

My freind says its someone who just believes in peace and stuff.

Im not so sure.

so someone pleaz telll me

I am buddhist and practice Mahayana teachings, for those that are wondering what that is, read the link below:

www.religioustolerance.org...

I'm a newly converted buddhist and would be very thankful if some people could recommend some e-books for me. Either post or u2u me.

I suppose that most would consider me a Buddhist, but I would rather figure things out for myself as oppose to clinging to the ideas of someone else.

I really have no idea why Buddhism is considered a religion through. It seems more like a philosophy to me as you are not subjecting yourself to the will of someone else.

I know this thread is pretty old, but I'm a new guy so I thought I would make a new post.

Raised Christian, I'd call describe myself as a Mahayana Buddhist now. I'd second the hesitation calling Buddhism either a philosophy or a religion though. As for book suggestions, The Tibetan Book of Living in Dead is a great suggestion! I'd probably recommend The eArt of Happiness to the newbie (as it explains more of the ideas of Buddhism instead of the fireworks discussed in Book of the Dead).

For those looking to develop a more detailed understanding of Buddhist ideas, The Monk and the Philosopher (by Ricard and Revel) is amazing. It is a father-son discussion between a Revel (the father, also a well-known French philosopher) and Ricard (his son, a prominent biologist that gave up his life in France to move to India and join a monastary). Its thorough, but not a headache to read.

Although I wouldn't call myself a Buddhist, I appreciate the philosophy as well as Taoism. I'm just not disciplined enough yet.

Not being able to accept the traditional concept of "God," I found Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism and Taoism to be a great means of cultivating virtue without belief in a "God."

A great start to understanding Taoism would be the "Tao of Pooh" books by Benjamin Hoff. When looking for books on these subjects, I tend to enjoy the ones actually written by those who practice and live what they are writing about, rather then "Professor John Smith, Phd." who just researched it for a book. Be mindful of that when looking for yourself.