My review of "American Buddhism: A New Direction" by Gyomay Kubose
This week we read all of Gyomay Kubose's "American Buddhism: A New Direction".
It was touched on that it is essential for Buddhism to adapt to the culture that it is in. People have different perspectives, and instead of forcing them to change to their perspective, Buddhism morphs to fit theirs. Its almost like the jar and golf ball story. Buddhism fills in the empty spaces.
Another thing that really struck me was the idea that Buddhism can help with mental health. Buddhism offers a way to learn how to deal with the harsh realities of life instead of ignore them. The 4 Noble Truths are commonly referred to a medical diagnosis. They looks at symptoms (there is suffering), find the causes (craving), proscribe a remedy, and give the medicine (8-Fold Path). This is something that has helped me enormously. I suffer from depression, and when I finally decided to start getting help, I felt like there were an infinite number of problems in my life, and I decided to list them all out. In all, there were over 200 things listed, and it was a completely exhaustive list. I looked at the trends and how they connect to each other and created a mind map. Once I saw everything laid out, I saw that a vast majority of the problems in my life was because I was suffering from one of the 3 Poisons (delusion, attachment, aversion). Once I saw this, I was able to let go of my anxiety and feel an enormous weight lifted off my shoulders.
There was also the question of what God, Heaven, and hell are. There were 2 quotes that put it very eloquently that resonated with me.
and
There were also some GREAT insights to the 8-Fold Path. I have added them to my "Buddhism Made Simple" flowchart if you're interested in knowing more!
Something that I liked about "Buddhism Without Beliefs" was the idea that when Agnosticism and Buddhism come together, they make each other more pure. Gyomay Kubose re-affirmed that line of thought when he suggested that Buddha did not speculate on the unknowable. I think this is something that has become a big part of my Buddhist practice and beliefs. It has made me more curious about exploring what Agnosticism really is.
It was touched on that it is essential for Buddhism to adapt to the culture that it is in. People have different perspectives, and instead of forcing them to change to their perspective, Buddhism morphs to fit theirs. Its almost like the jar and golf ball story. Buddhism fills in the empty spaces.
Another thing that really struck me was the idea that Buddhism can help with mental health. Buddhism offers a way to learn how to deal with the harsh realities of life instead of ignore them. The 4 Noble Truths are commonly referred to a medical diagnosis. They looks at symptoms (there is suffering), find the causes (craving), proscribe a remedy, and give the medicine (8-Fold Path). This is something that has helped me enormously. I suffer from depression, and when I finally decided to start getting help, I felt like there were an infinite number of problems in my life, and I decided to list them all out. In all, there were over 200 things listed, and it was a completely exhaustive list. I looked at the trends and how they connect to each other and created a mind map. Once I saw everything laid out, I saw that a vast majority of the problems in my life was because I was suffering from one of the 3 Poisons (delusion, attachment, aversion). Once I saw this, I was able to let go of my anxiety and feel an enormous weight lifted off my shoulders.
There was also the question of what God, Heaven, and hell are. There were 2 quotes that put it very eloquently that resonated with me.
I am often asked if whether Buddhists believe also in god, since Buddha is a man. the answer will be yes and no; it depends on the meaning of god. if god means a supernatural, superhuman, almighty creator who exists somewhere, and who creates all things, sustains and judges, and is an external agent who controls human destiny, then Buddhists do not believe such a being. However, if god means the truth, the final reality of all things, and is the universe itself, then god corresponds to the truth in Buddhism
and
"Heaven" and "Hell" in Buddhism are the contents of life right here on earth; they are not places to which one goes after death. we make life heavenly or hellish all by ourselves. we ourselves create heaven and hell.
There were also some GREAT insights to the 8-Fold Path. I have added them to my "Buddhism Made Simple" flowchart if you're interested in knowing more!
Something that I liked about "Buddhism Without Beliefs" was the idea that when Agnosticism and Buddhism come together, they make each other more pure. Gyomay Kubose re-affirmed that line of thought when he suggested that Buddha did not speculate on the unknowable. I think this is something that has become a big part of my Buddhist practice and beliefs. It has made me more curious about exploring what Agnosticism really is.
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