Thread: I take refuge in the Buddha?

Dark Matters:I am not critical of my awareness of buddha. I am asking if anyone has ever been asked by a buddhist monk or representative to receive approval from them before the monks decided to share their knowledge with them & how this might be empowering if it is at all to the seeker of joy, peace & knowledge?

BTW I got a good laugh out of the gift shop bit. he he he

NonDualistic: that was a very beautiful & eloquent response. However, my question still remains; How is it healthy/benefical to profess your need of refuge?

Some people say Buddhism is an atheist philosophy having nothing to do with spirituality.

Some people say it's a spiritual path of enlightenment, that does include spirituality.

But both of these ignore that there is a REAL religious aspect to Buddhism. People in the west idealize everything about Buddhism saying how it's none of the quakyness of religion, but that isn't true. There are plenty of Buddhists that have turned Buddhas teachings into a dogmatic religion, and it's been this way for a long time. Like all centralized religions, this creates a whole lot of silly meaningless rules, and not to mention a hierarchy system of priests, lamas or monks. I'm not even allowed to take part in some of these Buddhist temples, just because I'm female.

How many female monks have you seen? There is as much effort happening in the east to allow females to be ordained in these temples, as there is in the west to allow females to be christian priests.

So while in the west we see these temples, and think how beautiful and how special these monks must be - we need to remember that a lot of these temples aren't just involved in spirituality. . .BUT RELIGION

Originally Posted by Hijo de la Luna

Dark Matters:I am not critical of my awareness of buddha. I am asking if anyone has ever been asked by a buddhist monk or representative to receive approval from them before the monks decided to share their knowledge with them & how this might be empowering if it is at all to the seeker of joy, peace & knowledge?

BTW I got a good laugh out of the gift shop bit. he he he

NonDualistic: that was a very beautiful & eloquent response. However, my question still remains; How is it healthy/benefical to profess your need of refuge?

When embarking on a journey, one needs to know where one is going

Before leaving one needs to know how to get there

The benefits thereof are self evident


Many can tell you where to go, and point the way to get there..

But no matter what someone else says

Only you can take yourself there


Religions and teachers have their uses

Though..

They cannot give you anything that you yourself did not already posess

They can only awaken you to what is already hidden within yourself

Beyond that of what benefit could they possibly be?

Tibetan Buddhism is a couple of sects of Buddhism. There is Mahayana, and then there is Vajrayana. Originally all there was was Buddha's historic teachings, called Sutrayana. Then later it evolve into Mahayana. The difference is basically that in Sutrayana the focus is on reaching enlightenment for yourself. Mahayana is reaching enlightenment fo the benefit of all sentient beings. This is where the Bodhisattvas come from: Mahayana. Then Vajrayana is basically Mahayana mixed with magical sorcery and shamanism. It has a lot lot lot of stuff that the Buddha never taught. Vajrayana is Tantra.
So, for these teachings, lineage is very important. Every monk can trace his lineage back to the Buddha himself, or to another Buddha (enlightened being) who brought the teachings. The idea is to keep the teachings pure and there is a secret transmission beyond words that is passed on form teacher to student.
However, it can become a dogma. I'd like to think that an you were already initiated when you had your experience. The Buddha initiated himself. You initiated yourself.
That is something that is lost nowadays and that is something that we are bringing back. The ability to initiate yourself. But then you don't have the lineage to back you up.
The whole requirement of initiation is also a way for the lamas to keep their power. Unfortunately, even Buddhism is trying to cling to its authority and resist change.

But real Buddhism is just the truth. The Dharma is the truth. And to take refuge in the Dharma is to take refuge on the truth. To take refuge in the Buddha is to take refuge in the fact that you to are a Buddha. To take refuge in the Sangha (spiritual community) is to join a living web of light made of people like you, me, the Incan Shaman, Juroara, Darkmatters, NonDualistic, the Dalai Lama, etc...

If we feed this living web of light it will expand and empower us and envelope others and empower everyone.