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Saying "I am a Buddhist"
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Fede
- Posts: 1182
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- Location: The Heart of this "Green & Pleasant Land"...
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Re: Saying "I am a Buddhist"
"Samsara: The human condition's heartbreaking inability to sustain contentment." Elizabeth Gilbert, 'Eat, Pray, Love'.
Simplify: 17 into 1 WILL go: Mindfulness!
Quieta movere magna merces videbatur. (Sallust, c.86-c.35 BC)
Translation: Just to stir things up seemed a good reward in itself.
I am sooooo happy - How on earth could I be otherwise?!
http://www.armchairadvice.co.uk/relationships/forum/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Simplify: 17 into 1 WILL go: Mindfulness!
Quieta movere magna merces videbatur. (Sallust, c.86-c.35 BC)
Translation: Just to stir things up seemed a good reward in itself.
I am sooooo happy - How on earth could I be otherwise?!
http://www.armchairadvice.co.uk/relationships/forum/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Saying "I am a Buddhist"
Hotei or Budai.Monkey Mind wrote:Well, it finally happened. A friend gave me a statue of Hotoi (spelling?) for Christmas. I keep an eclectic alter, but not sure what to do with this guy...
I'm in a slightly similar situation -- my mother, meaning well, got me a Buddhist calendar for Christmas (heh), but of course all the artwork on it is Mahayana. No idea what to do with it!
"To reach beyond fear and danger we must sharpen and widen our vision. We have to pierce through the deceptions that lull us into a comfortable complacency, to take a straight look down into the depths of our existence, without turning away uneasily or running after distractions." -- Bhikkhu Bodhi
"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man." -- Heraclitus
"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man." -- Heraclitus
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Fede
- Posts: 1182
- Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 10:33 pm
- Location: The Heart of this "Green & Pleasant Land"...
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Re: Saying "I am a Buddhist"
Actually guys, I have two statues of HoTei (or whatever....) and a Buddhist calendar probably exactly like yours, Tex, and I ask myself....
Does it really matter all that much?
They were given with the kindest of intentions, with affection, so perhaps it would be better to accept them gratefully, and simply use them in the nicest possible way, as you see fit...
After all, everything falls away.....
Does it really matter all that much?
They were given with the kindest of intentions, with affection, so perhaps it would be better to accept them gratefully, and simply use them in the nicest possible way, as you see fit...
After all, everything falls away.....
"Samsara: The human condition's heartbreaking inability to sustain contentment." Elizabeth Gilbert, 'Eat, Pray, Love'.
Simplify: 17 into 1 WILL go: Mindfulness!
Quieta movere magna merces videbatur. (Sallust, c.86-c.35 BC)
Translation: Just to stir things up seemed a good reward in itself.
I am sooooo happy - How on earth could I be otherwise?!
http://www.armchairadvice.co.uk/relationships/forum/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Simplify: 17 into 1 WILL go: Mindfulness!
Quieta movere magna merces videbatur. (Sallust, c.86-c.35 BC)
Translation: Just to stir things up seemed a good reward in itself.
I am sooooo happy - How on earth could I be otherwise?!
http://www.armchairadvice.co.uk/relationships/forum/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Monkey Mind
- Posts: 538
- Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2009 8:56 pm
- Location: Pacific Northwest, USA
Re: Saying "I am a Buddhist"
Fede, I don't disagree with you. I am honored that someone thinks enough of me that they made the effort to gift me something "Buddhisty". But it does put me in an awkward position: telling the person Hotei is not really Buddha would feel ungrateful and might embarrass the giver, but not saying something perpetuates misconceptions.
Mahayana art is often very beautiful. If it were me, I'd keep the calendar or regift it to someone.
Mahayana art is often very beautiful. If it were me, I'd keep the calendar or regift it to someone.
"As I am, so are others;
as others are, so am I."
Having thus identified self and others,
harm no one nor have them harmed.
Sutta Nipāta 3.710
as others are, so am I."
Having thus identified self and others,
harm no one nor have them harmed.
Sutta Nipāta 3.710
Re: Saying "I am a Buddhist"
Perhaps re-christen the statue as a monument to kalyanamittata? I think the intention was a very noble one, and I would be touched if someone did that for me.
FYI I actually know a Theravada bhante who displays a Hotei statue in an office at the monks' residence. It inspired a good discussion on Buddhahood and future Buddhas.
FYI I actually know a Theravada bhante who displays a Hotei statue in an office at the monks' residence. It inspired a good discussion on Buddhahood and future Buddhas.
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Fede
- Posts: 1182
- Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 10:33 pm
- Location: The Heart of this "Green & Pleasant Land"...
- Contact:
Re: Saying "I am a Buddhist"
look at it this way.Monkey Mind wrote:Fede, I don't disagree with you. I am honored that someone thinks enough of me that they made the effort to gift me something "Buddhisty". But it does put me in an awkward position: telling the person Hotei is not really Buddha would feel ungrateful and might embarrass the giver, but not saying something perpetuates misconceptions.
Mahayana art is often very beautiful. If it were me, I'd keep the calendar or regift it to someone.
We're all (aspiring) Buddhas, and the gift was given to you in kindness, consideration, love and sincerity.
How can it not represent Buddha to you?
The Jewel is in the Lotus.
Maybe he ain't Buddha, but he's a coulda-Buddha.....!!
I realise you feel you'll have to tell them, but that doesn't mean you need to do it immediately, necessarily....Bide your time, tell them when it's appropriate..... That time will come.
"Samsara: The human condition's heartbreaking inability to sustain contentment." Elizabeth Gilbert, 'Eat, Pray, Love'.
Simplify: 17 into 1 WILL go: Mindfulness!
Quieta movere magna merces videbatur. (Sallust, c.86-c.35 BC)
Translation: Just to stir things up seemed a good reward in itself.
I am sooooo happy - How on earth could I be otherwise?!
http://www.armchairadvice.co.uk/relationships/forum/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Simplify: 17 into 1 WILL go: Mindfulness!
Quieta movere magna merces videbatur. (Sallust, c.86-c.35 BC)
Translation: Just to stir things up seemed a good reward in itself.
I am sooooo happy - How on earth could I be otherwise?!
http://www.armchairadvice.co.uk/relationships/forum/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Saying "I am a Buddhist"
Hotei is a pretty interesting guy in his own right. I have several Hotei statues and use them as reminders that happiness is possible.Monkey Mind wrote:Well, it finally happened. A friend gave me a statue of Hotoi (spelling?) for Christmas. I keep an eclectic alter, but not sure what to do with this guy...
YMMV, of course.