David B

Don't have it to hand.

Could you please post quote?

All the best

David B

lenrek

There are some links can be found in the sticky: Requesting Your Recommendations

lenrek

Sounds a bit harsh... Why not give some explanation on why there is a disgreement; I think that will be more insightful.

Yeshi

what's oft forgotten or overseen is that buddhism is NOT an intellectual pastime aka philosophy. It is a living, practicing method for betterment.
So even better then 20 books that lead/baffle you in that or other direction and then get forgotten is the contact with a good teacher.


Peace is every step.
The shining red sun is my heart.
Each flower smiles with me.
How green, how fresh all that grows.
How cool the wind blows.
Peace is every step.
It turns the endless path to joy.

Dharma

Yes, Buddhism is about the actual experience through constant practice, not the philosophy. Philosophy is secondary or written experience.

David B

Let me make a suggestion.

A good teacher is one who will feed your zeal for enlightment, and then, by the use of any, some or all the following: - self suggestion techniques dignified with the name of meditation, sleep deprivation, pretending nonsense is sense, claims of paranormal powers, claim that they are talking directly from god, claims that the Master in whose steps he follows had supernatural powers (NB Christianity),claims of some sort of mystical union with the universe, fasting, flagellation, mortifying the flesh, etc - suggests that wonderful things will happen to you if you take what he has to say on board, so when you get into some sort of hypnotic state you feel wonderful.

Out of touch with reality, insofar as reality can be or has been understood by humans, but wonderful.

If you look at leaders who have found some people who are very enthusiastic about their teachings, From Christ, to Koresh, to Sai Baba, to Buddhist Ashrams (or whatever you call them), you will find that a helluva lot of them do yuse techniques like this.

Good teachers in the sense of effective teachers. They have followers who are having wonderful experiences as a result of following their teaching, Id suggest.

Would your good teacher be any different. If so, would the teaching work? Would you get a hit off of it?



David B (had very powerful experiences in his TM days, but now prefers sceptical enquiry as the prefered way of understnding life, the universe and everything)

perfectbite

All that we are is the result of what we have thought.
It is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts.
If one speaks or acts with an evil thought pain follows them
as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the wagon.

Dhammapada 1.




Mind is the forerunner of all states.
Mind is chief. Mind made are they.
If one speaks or acts with a pure mind,
because of that, happiness follows one
even as one’s shadow that never leaves.

Dhammapada, 2

perfectbite

Lenrek, my understanding of Buddhism allows Siddartha Gautama Buddha and Shankara to have equally valid points (Buddhism is more than just an extension of Hinduism but it does have its roots in Hinduism) but this understanding may be due to just my understanding. However, I do consider that Sakyamuni Buddha, i.e. all other teaching Buddhas, and Shankara are very different (not that their views are that different but the directions those views (and subsequent teachings) take them in are very different, I follow the Buddhas) and I feel that both of them, Siddartha Gautama Buddha and Shankara actually truly did know reality and I pointed out the Dhammapada one and two because those stanzas are explicit statements of Buddhist thought that resound throughout Buddhist thought and thinking and in my view are the cornerstone of Buddhist thought and teaching and could easily be overlooked once a comparison is made to the storm and fury of the Reformation. The followers of Siddartha Gautama Buddha and the followers of Shankara didn't burn each other at the stake.

My 2 cents.

Answerer

Not exactly accurate, if you know about Buddhist cosmology, you will get to know lot about the "innumerable different world systems" mentioned among Thervada scriptures, Buddha's sayings, Mahayana sutras & Vajravana teachings.

Yeshi

which is a good approach indeed.

When all is said, experienced, and done, what remains is the changes that took effect: if you were in a wonderfull whizz-bang circus show a la cinema etc, once the "rapture" is gone, nothing stays.
So the transient states of mind, however thrilling, mostly have no effect.

Someone said, on some other forum, that the value of the buddhist practice is in how much of the negative afflictions it manages to heal and remedy in your everyday life: that is the measuring stick to which ANY teaching should be taken:

Am i less jelous of others?
Am i less boastful with pride?
Am i less greedy?
Am i less hateful and angry?
Am i less selfish?

..and if that is the case, do i notice that all of my surroundings are in better harmony because of this?