tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350618880009072374.post3062801964782246708..comments2023-08-23T01:37:52.765-04:00Comments on ByChanceBuddhism: What About Scripture?Renatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443520247398112519noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350618880009072374.post-83227546690357141772013-01-09T14:25:51.474-05:002013-01-09T14:25:51.474-05:00Thank you Karmicloud, for your detailed and insigh...Thank you Karmicloud, for your detailed and insightful comment. I am sorry it has taken me this long to respond to it. <br /><br />But I do agree with what you say, and think that what you have written here basically echos what I was not able to articulate when I wrote this post almost three years ago. <br /><br />Studying the scriptures without any guidance can cause harm, especially when the ideas therein are extrapolated beyond their intended purpose. That being said, I don't think that READING the scriptures in an academic sense would in itself do any harm, but questions should be directed to a trusted person who has deep understanding of them. As a western practitioner, I am still focusing on the basic Buddhist concepts such as the Four Noble Truths, Noble Eightfold Path, and Five Moral Precepts, because that is what I am most comfortable with- and those things, practiced and explored deeply, are a handful in themselves! <br /><br />Thanks again for your comment, may you be well!Renatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02443520247398112519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350618880009072374.post-63898199671917021942012-08-13T21:16:48.168-04:002012-08-13T21:16:48.168-04:00Scriptures can be beneficial, but they can also be...Scriptures can be beneficial, but they can also be harmful if we don't have a teacher to set us right (and in the West, most of us do not!). We tend to twist the teachings to support our own presuppositions about the nature of reality, and can cling to these wrong views for a very long time without knowing it. The only real antidote is the Noble Eightfold Path, a meditative practice (or even chanting) that allows us to experience the true nature of all phenomena directly to bring it close to home. When we've experienced the empty nature of phenomena, the teachings then fall into place and are correctly understood.<br /><br />Reason and scientific investigation have become strong influences in the West, and so the most reasonable thing for many teacher-less Buddhists to do is get a clear grasp of the basics (Four Noble Truths w/Noble Eightfold Path, the Precepts, Impermanence, Not-Self, Karma, etc.) and proceed to take up a meditative practice so as not to fall into wrong views. There's a movement in thought that's very anti-dogma, anti blind religious belief, and this is the resultant care with which some people undertake Buddhist practice.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com