Safety of the Pureland practices

[Thug4lyfe]

It seems to me that when one accepts Pureland practices, it becomes much easier to accept the powers and benefits that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas uses to help us. Thus we quickly start practicing the right Dharma and stop the horrible mistakes of slandering the Dharma!

Was anyone here heavily attached atheism and science prior to discover the Pureland methods?

[Nighthawk]

not atheism but theravada. after a few years i realized man this isn't possible!! (for me)

[edearl]

It seems to me that when one accepts Pureland practices, it becomes much easier to accept the powers and benefits that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas uses to help us. Thus we quickly start practicing the right Dharma and stop the horrible mistakes of slandering the Dharma!

Was anyone here heavily attached atheism and science prior to discover the Pureland methods?

I am very new to Buddhism, attached to science, and agnostic. So far my knowledge of the various schools is too incomplete to choose one, and Buddhism seems to be compatible with both science and agnosticism. Various eastern religions have blended with Buddhism, (e.g., Vedism, Hinduism, Asceticism, moksha, Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto, etc.) Recently, western religions are blending with Buddhism, including Buddhist-Christianty. If I could design my own Buddhist school, it might be described as Universal Buddhism, which would accept all faiths and no faith, all schools and no school, as well as dharma and western science.

I find Buddhism helpful, already. It has changed my life after practicing a few weeks. I am a born again Buddhish

Ed

[kirtu]

Was anyone here heavily attached atheism and science prior to discover the Pureland methods?

Just a note: atheism and science do not go hand in hand irrespective of what some prominent scientists who I respect greatly otherwise say (Neil deGrasse Tyson for example).

Kirt

[edearl]

Was anyone here heavily attached atheism and science prior to discover the Pureland methods?

Just a note: atheism and science do not go hand in hand irrespective of what some prominent scientists who I respect greatly otherwise say (Neil deGrasse Tyson for example).

Kirt

True, science is silent about beliefs, including religion, atheism and agnosticism.

[Kyosan]

It seems to me that when one accepts Pureland practices, it becomes much easier to accept the powers and benefits that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas uses to help us. Thus we quickly start practicing the right Dharma and stop the horrible mistakes of slandering the Dharma!

Was anyone here heavily attached atheism and science prior to discover the Pureland methods?

I'm a person of science, and at the same time greatly respect the Pureland practice. I'm not a Pureland Buddhist myself, but probably closest to Zen.

[Thug4lyfe]

Thats all good homes, just saying that many people argue against issues like rebirth etc because it's not "scientific". They are the same ones that tells people that the precepts are not neccesary and that the Buddha is just a "product of his culture and time".

Science, belief in deities etc should not conflict with Buddhism. Guess attachment is whats obstructing us :/

[Nosta]

Science denies a lot of evidences regarding paranormal phenomenon, like rebirth irself, telepathy, telecinesy, claroyance (it seems that there are some good studies supporting the reality of telepathy, microtelecinesy, etc). Science denies the reality of ufos! UFOs ARE REAL! They are everywhere but people still likes to say that they are not real! The science that denies such things its the same science that believes that our toughts can affect the outcome of quantic experiments! Its the same sciencethat says that some particles can get in two places at the same time, or that some particles can affect each other without any force in between, or that if you travel at near light speed, you can get younger than your own son...etc...

When observing everything that science finds and everyhing that is real but science denies, one gets a different view of the universe. I have a differente scientific view now, a view where everything is connected somehow and where nothing is so real or "solid" as we think.

[Thug4lyfe]

It also seems like science is the truth until...

Science talks about the advantages of vegetarianism
science talks about global warming
science talks about anything that goes against my convenience

It's also sad that science became a "religion" when it comes to issues of morality and excuse for indulgence.

[Simurgh]

I was born a Catholic and then became an atheist. I'm studying for my bachelor's degree in biochemistry. When I first learned about the different types of Buddhism, I had disliked Pure Land Buddhism the most since I felt that it relied on faith rather than practice. Yet when I joined a Pure Land practice out of curiosity, I had an absolutely phenomenal experience. Before I harbored very bad feelings towards Christianity but paradoxically after I started practicing Pure Land those feelings disappeared and in fact now I believe that all traditions and faiths are valid in many ways. I highly agree with edearl, that we should accept all of these faiths with respect and compassion. Buddhism has changed my life as well.

Amituofo!

[plwk]

I recall reading this...

http://www.ymba.org/BWF/bwf05.htm
Its teachings are based on compassion, on faith in the compassionate Vows of Amitabha Buddha to welcome and guide all sentient beings who so desire to His Pure Land;

It is an easy method, in terms of both goal (rebirth in the Western Pure Land as a stepping-stone toward Buddhahood) and form of cultivation (can be practiced anywhere, any time with no special liturgy, accoutrements or guidance);

It is a panacea for the diseases of the mind, unlike other methods or meditations which are directed to specific illnesses (for instance, meditation on the corpse is designed to sever lust, while counting the breath is for the purpose of reining in the wandering mind);

It is a democratic method that empowers its adherents, freeing them from arcane metaphysics as well as dependence on teachers, gurus, roshis and other mediating authority figures.

For these reasons, since the thirteenth century, Pure Land has been the dominant tradition in East Asia, playing a crucial role in the democratization of Buddhism and the rise of the lay movement. Honen Shonin (1133-1212), the Patriarch of the Jodo (Pure Land) school in Japan, expressed the very essence of Pure Land teaching when he wrote:
There shall be no distinction, no regard to male or female, good or bad, exalted or lowly; none shall fail to be in His Land of Purity after having called, with complete faith, on Amida. (Quoted by Elizabeth ten Grotenhuis in Joji Okazaki, Pure Land Buddhist Painting, p. 14.)