Masonry- compatible with Buddhist practice?

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Manjushriwiz
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Re: Masonry- compatible with Buddhist practice?

Post by Manjushriwiz »

:buddha1:
A lot of freemasons I know are obssesed with power and they are ver y abusive corrupted people I prefer to stay away
Malcolm
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Re: Masonry- compatible with Buddhist practice?

Post by Malcolm »

Manjushriwiz wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 2:52 am :buddha1:
A lot of freemasons I know are obssesed with power and they are ver y abusive corrupted people I prefer to stay away
Masons were instrumental in the formation of liberal democracy in England, the Americas, and on the Continent.
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Masonry- compatible with Buddhist practice?

Post by Kim O'Hara »

Malcolm wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:37 pm
Manjushriwiz wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 2:52 am :buddha1:
A lot of freemasons I know are obssesed with power and they are ver y abusive corrupted people I prefer to stay away
Masons were instrumental in the formation of liberal democracy in England, the Americas, and on the Continent.
Masons in Australia today are mostly very conservative but good people, helping each other and doing a lot of charitable work in the community. They are less secretive than they used to be when I was a kid but still keep a low profile.
What they did a century ago was different. What they do in other countries is likely to be different.

:namaste:
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Manjushriwiz
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Re: Masonry- compatible with Buddhist practice?

Post by Manjushriwiz »

:buddha1:
Recently some freemasons attacked me personally for being buddhist so I decide better to stay away even though itried to be reasonable
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climb-up
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Re: Masonry- compatible with Buddhist practice?

Post by climb-up »

You could certainly be a mason and a Buddhist if you wanted to be. There are Buddhist masons.
To be a mason you need to accept a "GAOTU" (Great Arcitecht Of The Universe), in any way you choose to define it and with no need to explain or expand on your personal understanding. You also swear an oath on a volume of sacred law of your choosing, so some Buddhists (as shown in the link below) have used the Dhammapada.
The rituals are, I believe, for most masons not the main point, but the fraternity and group support is; although, some lodges are more esoteric and some (very few) masons might spend time meditating and thinking about the symbolism involved.

https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/th ... ion/7423/5
"Death's second name is 'omnipresent.' On the relative truth it seems we become separate. But on the absolute there is no separation." Lama Dawa
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Masonry- compatible with Buddhist practice?

Post by Kim O'Hara »

climb-up wrote: Fri Mar 31, 2023 10:11 pm You could certainly be a mason and a Buddhist if you wanted to be. There are Buddhist masons.
To be a mason you need to accept a "GAOTU" (Great Arcitecht Of The Universe), in any way you choose to define it and with no need to explain or expand on your personal understanding. You also swear an oath on a volume of sacred law of your choosing, so some Buddhists (as shown in the link below) have used the Dhammapada.
The rituals are, I believe, for most masons not the main point, but the fraternity and group support is; although, some lodges are more esoteric and some (very few) masons might spend time meditating and thinking about the symbolism involved.

https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/th ... ion/7423/5
That's true (and it has already been said) but some groups of masons are less tolerant than they should be and staying away from them is good sense.

:namaste:
Kim
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climb-up
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Re: Masonry- compatible with Buddhist practice?

Post by climb-up »

Kim O'Hara wrote: Fri Mar 31, 2023 11:45 pm
climb-up wrote: Fri Mar 31, 2023 10:11 pm You could certainly be a mason and a Buddhist if you wanted to be. There are Buddhist masons.
To be a mason you need to accept a "GAOTU" (Great Arcitecht Of The Universe), in any way you choose to define it and with no need to explain or expand on your personal understanding. You also swear an oath on a volume of sacred law of your choosing, so some Buddhists (as shown in the link below) have used the Dhammapada.
The rituals are, I believe, for most masons not the main point, but the fraternity and group support is; although, some lodges are more esoteric and some (very few) masons might spend time meditating and thinking about the symbolism involved.

https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/th ... ion/7423/5
That's true (and it has already been said) but some groups of masons are less tolerant than they should be and staying away from them is good sense.

:namaste:
Kim
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Idk how it is now, but when I was younger I was under the impression that it was mostly a social club for older dudes of a certain persuasion and that neither the mystical nor the progressive was particularly if interest.
"Death's second name is 'omnipresent.' On the relative truth it seems we become separate. But on the absolute there is no separation." Lama Dawa
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Konchog1
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Re: Masonry- compatible with Buddhist practice?

Post by Konchog1 »

Malcolm wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:37 pm
Manjushriwiz wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 2:52 am :buddha1:
A lot of freemasons I know are obssesed with power and they are ver y abusive corrupted people I prefer to stay away
Masons were instrumental in the formation of liberal democracy in England, the Americas, and on the Continent.
All British and Commonwealth masons in the United Grand Lodge of England have been ruled by Prince Edward for decades. Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orleans and the heir to the French throne was the Grand Master of the Grand Orient at the time of the French Revolution. Freemasonry has always been a scam.
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MGeorge116
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Re: Masonry- compatible with Buddhist practice?

Post by MGeorge116 »

Zhen Li wrote: Mon Jan 23, 2023 9:48 am A few issues in my mind:

2. Masonry assumes the existence of the "Great Architect," a personal creator god. They say you can choose whatever name you want to use to refer to it, and they will probably say you can call it the Buddha, but the Buddha is not the architect of this world: we create this world ourselves through our delusions. The Buddha would not create such a flawed existence.
The "Great Architect" that Masons speak of is Mara, or the Demiurge spoken of by the Gnostics.
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Masonry- compatible with Buddhist practice?

Post by Kim O'Hara »

MGeorge116 wrote: Sat Jun 10, 2023 11:20 pm
Zhen Li wrote: Mon Jan 23, 2023 9:48 am A few issues in my mind:

2. Masonry assumes the existence of the "Great Architect," a personal creator god. They say you can choose whatever name you want to use to refer to it, and they will probably say you can call it the Buddha, but the Buddha is not the architect of this world: we create this world ourselves through our delusions. The Buddha would not create such a flawed existence.
The "Great Architect" that Masons speak of is Mara, or the Demiurge spoken of by the Gnostics.
Where did you get those ideas?

:coffee:
Kim
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