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Originally Posted by Apexx
Zen Buddhism isn't a "faith". It's not a "religion". its the exact opposite. one can be a christian, or a muslim, hindu, or baptist and still practice zen. Like Mother Theresa, the prophet mohamed, ghandi, and Martin Luther King.
Zen buddhism spells out the key to being at perfect peace with the world around you through rational thought called The Four Noble Truths.
Those truths state things anyone can relate to such as "there is suffering" (suffering meaning 'unhappiness') and "There is a source of suffering" which is attachment to desire, and more. Through practice of these noble truths one can attain a rapture you didnt' even think were possible. Everything brings rapture when you have found the logic in it.
BTW, Buddha is not a god, though he is regarded as one. He himself states essentially "I am of flesh and blood. I am not a god. I have seen the beauty and brilliance of the face of god through these 4 noble truths that hold true throughout the universe." Buddhists view statues of buddha as the reminder of the path to enlightenment found through the 4 noble truths, NOT a tribute to Buddha as a man. You'd never figure that a physical statue can be transparent huh?
such is the selfless beauty of Zen.
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I am aware of it's nature. What i'm asking here, is are there any downfalls? Holes? That I may be missing. I'm about a hair away from taking the zen path. Actually to tell you the truth, i'm already beginning to practice it, I just made this thread out of interest.
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Originally Posted by PIMPIN aint easy
i think he means for example if tomorrow human race was to die out lets take christianity for example then good go to heaven bad to hell
but wit buddhism its about living life over and over until u reach nirvana, since u dont get another chance at life because there is no more humans for u to be reincarnated bk into 2 and since u yourself hav not reached nirvana yet wats happens then??
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I suppose if there were no humans left you would be forced to go into one of the other "worlds." It's a lot like the perception of heaven and hell.
From memory (I may be a bit off, but im pretty sure this is correct) the worlds are:
-Hells
-(I think there might be a world of Ghouls or Spirits or something here)
-Animals
-Humans
-Gods (and Demi-Gods)
So, just like in Christianity, if all lifeforms on earth were to die you could descend into hell or ascend to the land of the Gods (heaven, if you will). However it is believed that the prime existence for reaching Nirvana is human, because you experience both joy and suffering and have the best scope on shedding your desires. In the land of the Gods, they experience pleasure extensively so it is difficult to realize the truths and obtain enlightenment. And in the land of Hells, all they experience is suffering so it's hard for them to obtain enlightenment as well.
A zen master probably would have answered that question with "Don't ask stupid questions." -_-