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
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.
...
- 2,710
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
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
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 ...
- 7,121
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
Is there a defined sequence of events when a Buddhist enters a temple?
It depends on the temple and what part of it you're entering.
For instance, I used to be involved with my local Mahayana Temple. Whenever we entered the meditation hall, we did the following..
Took ...
- 2,229
3
votes
What are the rotating cylinders in monastries, and why are they there?
It's called Prayer wheel. These round cylinders are mantras, with thousands of prayers handwritten outside each in Sanskrit and Tibetan letters. Each full clockwise turn of the mantra is said to work ...
- 195
3
votes
Saying Grace before meals
Buddhists in Asian countries have a practice of offering the best portion of the meal before noon to the Buddha before they start eating.
You can also show your gratitude to your parents/wife/...
- 25.7k
3
votes
Accepted
According to Buddhism, what separates humans from animals?
According to Buddhism there 31 planes of existance out of one which is the animal kingdom.
Your next birth is decided by the last thought moment where you remeber a recent or grave act of Karma which ...
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
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. – ...
3
votes
Are reasons causes?
When we ask someone "why do you do that?", we are asking for her/his reasons.
This basically looks like to fulfil ones own curiosity. Our intellect is the sphere of our mind and our mind delights in ...
3
votes
Did Japanese Buddhists once use sky burial?
I was curious about this question and I found some sources that might answer this question more or less:
...in ancient Japanese society, prior to the introduction of Buddhism and the funerary ...
- 7,144
3
votes
What happens when your tank is empty, and you’ve got nothing left to give?
It's not really about what you give, it 's about what you give up. What you let go.
We can always give love. We can always send lovingkindness and compassion.
We can give to ourselves if it is from ...
- 7,144
3
votes
What happens when your tank is empty, and you’ve got nothing left to give?
It's not about giving.. if you can live with good thoughts that's enough. You can give a little water to a thirsty animal, that's also a great thing. Keep your mind clean and good. Don't make your ...
- 1,040
3
votes
Information on the best vow/Baare to do for a child's health and safety
Try doing a Bodhipuja at Sri Nagavihara temple, Kotte. It seems to help some people. I'm sure there are many other places that work too. Ruwanveli Saya, Sri Maha Bodhiya, Dalada Maligawa are obviously ...
- 25.7k
3
votes
Information on the best vow/Baare to do for a child's health and safety
Powerful kind of citta are called javana citta. “javana” means an arrow in flight, could be very potent and can lead to both good and bad consequences. You can create such a citta, if you recite a ...
- 9,695
3
votes
Is it disrespectful or unlawful to have dharma tattoo in Sri Lanka?
I am not sure about the Law. But in Sri Lankan culture tattoos are quite looked down upon. As a result when you have a tattoo of Buddha it is considered as disrespecting Buddha.
But as long as the ...
- 490
3
votes
Accepted
Can Buddhism be fundamentalist?
I expect you can find both extremes, and maybe everything in between, for example:
There are probably some Buddhists who say that even other Buddhists are following a wrong path
Conversely something ...
- 46.3k
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