17
votes
Accepted
Could someone provide a list of all Buddhist schools?
Out of thousands schools, sub-schools, and hybrids, here are some of the most notable outlines:
Early Buddhism and conservative descendants
=======Popular wing=======
Mahasanghika (developed into ...
7
votes
Saying Grace before meals
In the monastery I live, we are taught to bless the food by way of offering it, before each meal (or even before simply drinking a glass of water, tea, coffee or so).
The short Tibetan version goes:
...
- 5,206
7
votes
Celebrate Christmas
Whatever the monk said on Facebook needs to be looked in context and should not be taken at face value. You will get that context only from that monk and hence I will not comment on what he said.
Now ...
- 1,209
6
votes
Do any Buddhist traditions emphasize pilgrimage?
There are four main places that most Buddhists visit at least once in their lifetime. According to Buddha's words in Mahaparinibbana sutta those are
Lumbini, Buddhagaya, Sarnath and Kusinara in Nepal ...
- 4,233
6
votes
Accepted
A thought-experiment about the importance of Buddhist traditions
Would this result in loss of rank, social standing and credibility in his own circles? Or would this cause others around him to start looking up to him? What's your opinion?
It would undoubtedly ...
- 4,285
6
votes
Accepted
What are the rotating cylinders in monastries, and why are they there?
These are Tibetan Buddhist prayer wheels and they often have 'Om mani padme hum' engraved on them:
According to Tibetan Buddhist belief, spinning a prayer wheel is just as effective as reciting the ...
- 1,822
6
votes
Accepted
How do different traditions define "intoxicant"?
Let me first explain the original Pāli version of the fifth precept, according to what I learnt from prof. Richard Gombrich, who knows Pāli well and is a Theravāda scholar, but is not a Buddhist.
...
- 2,700
6
votes
Celebrate Christmas
If you are concerned about what a monk or another teacher of Buddhism has said, I find it is worth knowing about the wonderful Kalama Sutta from the Anguttara Nikaya. I do not read Pali and so have ...
- 116
5
votes
Is praying to a statue of the Buddha for bad things to happen part of Buddhism?
Buddhism teaches the cessation of anger and hatred. Anger and hatred arise from a deep suffering inside of us, and we must learn to cool down this anger and erase the suffering.
At this moment you ...
- 7,433
5
votes
Is praying to a statue of the Buddha for bad things to happen part of Buddhism?
In Buddhism we engage in 4 special prayer-like practices regarding other beings. They are called the Four Brahma Viharas or sometimes the Four Heavenly Abodes or Four Sublime States. They are:
Love ...
- 9,512
5
votes
Is praying to a statue of the Buddha for bad things to happen part of Buddhism?
There's no voodoo in Buddhism. Buddha preached his doctrine to help you get rid of hatred, greed and ignorance. Any curse or black magic is not a part of Buddhism, even if the lady ignorantly uses a ...
- 25.7k
5
votes
Accepted
Do any Buddhist traditions emphasize pilgrimage?
Several Books have been written about the practice of pilgrimage. See for example Buddhist Pilgrimage, by Chan Khoon San (via buddhanet). Holy Places of the Buddha, Crystal Mirror Vol. 9 is packed ...
- 4,285
5
votes
A thought-experiment about the importance of Buddhist traditions
Firstly, Buddhist monks are subject to rules. The Theravada monk has to follow the 227 Patimokkha rules. Of course, for other traditions, it may be different.
Some of these rules can be quite ...
- 36.9k
5
votes
Heaven and Hell in Buddhism
Yes, there are 31 realms of existences.
From top to bottom:
4 immaterial realms
16 fine material realms
6 heavens
human realm
Asura hell
ghost hell
animal hell
Niraya(hells of unimaginable ...
- 25.7k
4
votes
Does Buddhism cause longevity?
Quoting from Maha-parinibbana Sutta: Last Days of the Buddha,
And the Blessed One said: "Whosoever, Ananda, has developed, practiced, employed, strengthened, maintained, scrutinized, and
...
- 45.7k
4
votes
Celebrate Christmas
It is probably best to leave other's opinions/beliefs to them unless it is useful to your practice or directly affects your life in some way. Also, it seems like Facebook has done its job.
It seems ...
- 2,234
4
votes
Celebrate Christmas
Directly answering your question: Buddhist texts are more upset at following the wrong sort of Buddhism than for practicing two unrelated religions. Buddhist text tend to suggest that practicing other ...
- 7,111
4
votes
Is it disrespectful or unlawful to have dharma tattoo in Sri Lanka?
I'm a Sri Lankan dear user. As I know It's is not unlawful. But it can be considered as a disrespectful thing or as an insulting to Buddhist religion in Sri Lanka.
The problem was tattoos were not ...
- 41
4
votes
Can Buddhism be fundamentalist?
Let's put it this way - a Buddhist is a person who has taken refuge to the three jewels, follows and walks the path taught by the Buddha. Those who do not, are obviously not Buddhists already, ...
- 730
4
votes
Can a Sikh enter a buddhist temple with a turban?
As a sign of respect and being inline with accepted customs it is best that the person removes the turban.
I guess they might have been allowed in the accommodation of Sikh religious custom of ...
4
votes
Accepted
Choosing between contemplative traditions
That quote has absolutely no founding in reality. You could plumb the psychological depths of the alayavijnana in Tibetan Buddhism or Rinzai Zen, paint masterful works in Soto, compose gathas in the ...
- 104
3
votes
Accepted
A question regarding the level of worldly participation for a buddhist monk
As a Zen Monk I can answer the question regarding worldly participation in the following way. There is no definitive suggestion or rule within the Monastic Code of a Mahayana Monk. A Monk or Nun has ...
- 184
3
votes
A question regarding the level of worldly participation for a buddhist monk
The main role of the monastic community is to preserve the Buddha's teaching, but I don't think that the Buddha gave a prescription on how exactly to do that. It's been left to each community to set ...
- 424
3
votes
Is there any significance to shaving the head?
(I can't comment on this "...it is interesting to note that once you become enlightened you don't worry about such small things. Although Siddhartha cut his hair, Buddha kept long hair himself. – ...
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