# What are your misconceptions about Buddhism?



## ColdomadeusX

Hey foreros out there!
I was just wondering, suddenly seeing the few recent religious related threads that have popped up, whether many people have misconceptions about Buddhists and what these misconceptions are.
By this, I mean:
* Do you have the idea that Buddhists are all peace loving people that can't/wont swear?
*That all Buddhists are vegetarian?
* That Buddhists think that Buddha is the supreme ruler of the Universe?

Anything like this or if you have heard anything funny about Buddhism I'd be interested to hear about.If possible, I might try and clear up some of the weird misconceptions that people have ; if I can.

Gracias!
ColdomadeusX.


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## palomnik

Difficult terrain you're staking out, Coldo.

Most Westerners have never met a real live Buddhist, so what they believe is largely based on what they read, which is seldom an accurate picture of how a religion operates on the ground.  Given that, it's hard to decide what is a misconception and what is not.

The most common misconception here in the States, I would say, is that committed Buddhists tend to be a bunch of navel-gazing new agers, apt to confuse a predilection for Vipassana meditation with an interest in Mayan ruins and astral projection.  Unfortunately, that is exactly what a lot of American "Buddhists" are.

Based on the wording of your post, I assume that you are a Buddhist.  If so, I'd be  more interested in hearing what other misconceptions you've run across.


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## Haylette

Real Buddhists are in short supply in my part of the world, and any "mis-conceptions" we have are based on the type of people who treat religion as some kind of fashion statement, and so are probably true.


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## danielfranco

Misconceptions?
No, what I have is ignorance.


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## Tao

I never really stopped and thought about what Buddhism is


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## Etcetera

ColdomadeusX said:


> By this, I mean:
> * Do you have the idea that Buddhists are all peace loving people that can't/wont swear?
> *That all Buddhists are vegetarian?
> * That Buddhists think that Buddha is the supreme ruler of the Universe?


Frankly speaking, no. 
As we all know, there are very few Christians, for example, who live in strict accordance with the rules of their religion. And I don't think the situation is very different with other religions.


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## Ander

Interesting topic.

We should first distinguish between the different Buddhisms that exist.

I think there is a huge difference between a religion that considers Buddha as a kind of God and offers prayers and incense in front of his statue, and the atheist Buddhist philosophy that only considers Buddha (actually Siddharta Gautama) as the one who found the way out of suffering and rebirth.


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## jester.

If anyone of us does have misconceptions about buddhism because we have never actually met a real buddhist, how are we to know that our conceptions are misconceptions?


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## Etcetera

palomnik said:


> Most Westerners have never met a real live Buddhist, so what they believe is largely based on what they read, which is seldom an accurate picture of how a religion operates on the ground.


I also suspect that for many people who read magazines and watch TV, Buddhism is the religion accepted by some Holliwood celebrities (you know who they are). 
I would strongly doubt if it's a positive recommendation.


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## EmilyD

I've met Quakers, Unitarians and Jews who have associations/identifications with Buddhism.

Is that a misconception? 

There is a Providence Zen Center that is located in Cumberland, Rhode Island...

Nomi


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## elizabeth_b

jester. said:


> If anyone of us does have misconceptions about buddhism because we have never actually met a real buddhist, how are we to know that our conceptions are misconceptions?


 
I agree with Jester.  It's difficult to know if we are handling a wrong concept if we don't know the right one.  The only thing I know about Buddhism is that it's related to Siddartha Gautama.  I don't know the basis, the rites, etc...  The only buddhists I've seen are the stereotypes that are handled at the TV or in movies.  Sorry for that! But I'm really ignorant about this theme!


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## Mack the Knife

But it is better to become a Buddhist or to become a Buddha?


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## Blehh.

Mack the Knife said:


> But it is better to become a Buddhist or to become a Buddha?



A Buddhist _is_ a person trying to become a Buddha.


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## ColdomadeusX

palomnik said:


> Difficult terrain you're staking out, Coldo.
> 
> Most Westerners have never met a real live Buddhist, so what they believe is largely based on what they read, which is seldom an accurate picture of how a religion operates on the ground. Given that, it's hard to decide what is a misconception and what is not.
> 
> The most common misconception here in the States, I would say, is that committed Buddhists tend to be a bunch of navel-gazing new agers, apt to confuse a predilection for Vipassana meditation with an interest in Mayan ruins and astral projection. Unfortunately, that is exactly what a lot of American "Buddhists" are.
> 
> Based on the wording of your post, I assume that you are a Buddhist. If so, I'd be more interested in hearing what other misconceptions you've run across.


 
Yes I am a Buddhist and I find it actually quite amusing when people tell me that they think Buddhism is all Meditation and "navel gazing new age" stuff. Really, it depends on what type of Buddhism you follow. I myself follow a very "asianised" chinese sort of Buddhism. That is, we incorporate alot of Chinese traditions into Buddhism as well. If you go back a couple of generations in my family, Buddhism would be completely different to what it is now (mainly because my family made a major move to Australia). I find that cultural differences often influences a person's religion/way of life as well and Bddhism certainly fits well into this category.



Haylette said:


> Real Buddhists are in short supply in my part of the world, and any "mis-conceptions" we have are based on the type of people who treat religion as some kind of fashion statement, and so are probably true.


 
To be honest with you, I realy don't know anyone from the UK that are Buddhists and so I'm not really "qualified" to answer anything from your end of the globe. However, I do know a Chinese Buddhist Temple that has branches all over the world (even in Africa and Russia) and apparently, the only thing that is different for the nuns and monks living in the monasteries over seas is the food and language. In this particular branch of Buddhism itself, Chinese/Asian customs have been kind of woven into it. By that I mean, (as an example) that the dress code for all branches of this temple overseas or otherwise are the same. It is things like this that make distinguished differences between different types of Buddhism.

p.s. I'm sorry if I deviated off what you were saying but I got a little carried away.



danielfranco said:


> Misconceptions?
> No, what I have is ignorance.


 
That's generally how misconceptions start. I'm not saying that you have any of course but mostly, it's the ignorance of something that spurs people to invent things about the subject.



Etcetera said:


> Frankly speaking, no.
> As we all know, there are very few Christians, for example, who live in strict accordance with the rules of their religion. And I don't think the situation is very different with other religions.


 
That is very true but the reason I created this thread was just to see if there were people out there who didn't/don't know this and who have weird ideas about Buddhism.



Ander said:


> Interesting topic.
> 
> We should first distinguish between the different Buddhisms that exist.
> 
> I think there is a huge difference between a religion that considers Buddha as a kind of God and offers prayers and incense in front of his statue, and the atheist Buddhist philosophy that only considers Buddha (actually Siddharta Gautama) as the one who found the way out of suffering and rebirth.


 
I was probably being a little too general in my phrasing of the question. Really though, I don't mind what misconceptions there are out there about any type of Buddhism- I'm just interested really in what people think Buddhism is and involves. I don't really mind whether peoples want to be specific in this thread or not.



jester. said:


> If anyone of us does have misconceptions about buddhism because we have never actually met a real buddhist, how are we to know that our conceptions are misconceptions?


 
That's an excellent queston... Why not just find some Buddhists and ask? If I remember correctly, someone on the thread said that their problem was ignorance. This is the same thing right?



Etcetera said:


> I also suspect that for many people who read magazines and watch TV, Buddhism is the religion accepted by some Holliwood celebrities (you know who they are).
> I would strongly doubt if it's a positive recommendation.


 
REAL Buddhists don't rely on celebrities to choose their way of life. I certainly didn't and I hope any self respecting Buddhists out there don't too.


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## ColdomadeusX

EmilyD said:


> I've met Quakers, Unitarians and Jews who have associations/identifications with Buddhism.
> 
> Is that a misconception?
> 
> There is a Providence Zen Center that is located in Cumberland, Rhode Island...
> 
> Nomi


 
I'm not sure what you mean by have "identifications" with Buddhists. But my guess is that you mean that they have similar concepts that are surveyed in their religions. E.g. Peace and not killing being broad examples. I think it's actually quite common for religions to "identify" with each other. Many don't think it's true but Chrisitians and Muslims have some similar values and were founded on similar concepts. The strongest one obviously being their belief in one God. Similarly, Buddhism, I suppose would have something alike to this.



Mack the Knife said:


> But it is better to become a Buddhist or to become a Buddha?


 
No offence, but you sound like you don't know much about Buddhism at all. So I'm just going to tell the story of how Buddhism was founded in simple form.
Buddhism was founded by an Indian Prince (Prince Gautama Sidharta I think it was). And he saw the suffering all around him in the world and was pretty upset by it. He wanted to understand and help people around him and so he renounced all that he had- the riches, his royal standing and decided to live as a monk, carrying an alms bowl to recieve whatever food he could. Eventually, he sat under a tree called the Boddhi tree for a very long time (I really don't remember how long) and meditated without food or water till he reached a state of enlightenment in which he understood everything. It was then that he became a Buddha.
He was able to perform feats that no one else could- a bit of the equivelant of Jesus in a way. Except that he didn't try to convince everyone that there was a one true God, etc.
From then on, many people benefitted from Buddha's kindness and wisdom and thus the way of life- Buddhism was created.

So there you have it, Prince Sidharta attained a state of perfection/ enlightenment and became a Buddha. Now, Buddhism states that anyone can become a Buddha as Prince Siddharta did but that they would also need to attain perfection as he did also. However, as you would have guessed, it is extremely hard to become a Buddha due to the accumulation of bad karma in our past lives. Therefore, many of us just settle for being devoted followers of Buddha instead. So to answer your question, yes it is better to become a Buddha but it is highly unlikely so we settle for being buddhists instead.



Blehh. said:


> A Buddhist _is_ a person trying to become a Buddha.


 
I second that.


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## palomnik

Colmo:

After reading your responses over I can get a better appreciation of where you're coming from.  I've been an admirer of Buddhism for years, and it was one of the reasons that inspired me to get into Oriental Studies when I was in college, which was more years ago than I care to admit.

However, two things, both of which make it difficult to answer your question, have particularly struck me about Buddhism:  one was that it tended to be a "leavening" of other beliefs, in the areas where it existed.  In China it found a common basis of identity with Taoism, in Japan with Shinto, in Tibet with Bon, in Southeast Asia with the native spiritualism.  In all these cases the outward form that Buddhism assumed partook of the local religious practice, and the local religion in turn was heavily influenced by Buddhist beliefs, primarily those beliefs involving reincarnation and the use of meditation as a religious practice.  In some countries this process went so far as for Buddhism to virtually disappear as a separate entity, such as in India, where its beliefs were eventually rolled into later Hindu developments, and Central Asia, where it was superseded by Islam but where its various spiritual techniques and practices often resurfaced in an Islamic form.

The second thing that struck me - and in a sense this is related to the first - was that the outward forms that Buddhism has taken are legion.  From the austerity of Zen to the elaborate ritualism of Tibetan Buddhism to the reliance on personal salvation of Pure Land, it's hard for an outsider to see the overall pattern.  That Buddhists, for the most part, take for granted that all of these are legitimate expressions of Buddhism makes it even more difficult for Westerners to understand.

Aside from the "ethnic Buddhists" that I've met in the States, there are a sizable number of people that have been attracted to Buddhism and have allowed Buddhism to be an influence in their lives.  In some cases this leads to the navel-gazing type, but it also includes many committed Buddhists of this type that support nonviolence, vegetarianism, and returning to a more natural way of life than is common in most of society.  I suppose that this is the "leavening" of Buddhism taking place in American society, and it certainly seems a positive thing to me.

To get back to your question, I suppose I'm saying that given the nature of Buddhism it's difficult to pinpoint "misconceptions" in such an amorphous topic.


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## Ander

> Codomadeus:
> So there you have it, Prince Sidharta attained a state of perfection/ enlightenment and became a Buddha



The reaching of that state of enlightment is an awakening to the true reality of things.
Awakening, being awake is the meaning of Sanskrit bodh, and a buddha is someone who has awakened or is awake.


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## Kajjo

ColdomadeusX said:


> Buddhism was founded by an Indian Prince. And he saw the suffering all around him in the world and was pretty upset by it. He wanted to understand and help people around him and so he renounced all that he had- the riches, his royal standing and decided to live as a monk, carrying an alms bowl to recieve whatever food he could. Eventually, he sat under a tree called the Boddhi tree for a very long time and meditated without food or water till he reached a state of enlightenment in which he understood everything. It was then that he became a Buddha. He was able to perform feats that no one else could- a bit of the equivelant of Jesus in a way. From then on, many people benefitted from Buddha's kindness and wisdom and thus the way of life- Buddhism was created.


OK, you asked for Western opinions, so let me jump in with some questions and some (probable) misconceptions.

I figure that to understand Buddhism you need to know about the concepts of Hinduism as well. It appears to be fundamental to buddhism to believe in previous lifes and reincarnation, even if no one remembers anything about previous lifes of his own. For me this is a critical point, because it seems to be impossible to learn from earlier lifes if you do not remember your right and wrong decisions. For an outsider it appears to be only a justification for different positions and perspectives in life.

Further, I gather that buddhists believe that the previous lifes somehow influence the current life -- by what force, I do not understand. Magic or gods? Just the way it is? How is this _karma_ conveyed, stored, applied, judged?

Further, I think that buddhists believe in reincarnation, but want to escape from this eternal cycle. I really do not understand this concept, because from my point of view, life is precious and why should someone surrender his possibility of reincarnation?

About misconceptions and prejudices: Buddhists are known as peaceful and caring persons, or valueing life in all its forms. I cannot see how buddhists can start from the point "there is so much bad in the world", when in fact this world is most amazing, spectacular and all we have anyway.

You explanation talked about "understanding all". Why is this so important for you? We know very, very much more nowadays than was known to people at the time of Gautama. Is understanding all necessary or just desirable? What is meant by "all", everything like natural laws or just trancendantal things like what life is for?

If most buddhist will surely fail to become buddha, why is it so worthwhile to try anyway? As I understand it, reincarnation will occur anyway, leaving you where you started?

Kajjo


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## Blehh.

The word "Buddha" does not exclusively refer to Siddharta Gautama himself. It really just means "enlightened one" or "one who has reached nirvana". Anyone is capable of being a Buddha, and it is taught that one can do it by following the precepts of Buddhism if they wish to do so.


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## ireney

Moderator's note: While some information on Buddha and Buddhism are of course welcomed, I would like to remind to all members that a discussion on what they are is not what this discussion is about and is, indeed, outside the scope of this forum.


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## icelolli

"Further, I think that buddhists believe in reincarnation, but want to escape from this eternal cycle. I really do not understand this concept, because from my point of view, life is precious and why should someone surrender his possibility of reincarnation?"
- Kajjo


I thought that this was an issue when Buddhism began, breaking off from Hinduism, and that Buddhist believe that the cycle of life and death is eternal while Hindus believe the cycle breaks once complete realization is achieved.  I don't know if this is correct.  There are probably Buddhists and Hindus who differ from the above statement.  Both religions have so much diversity within them, making this discussion difficult in my opinion.  But for sure, some Buddhists believe that the cycles go on even once enlightened.


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## Ander

icelolli said:


> But for sure, some Buddhists believe that the cycles go on even once enlightened.



You may be refering to the bodhisattvas. On the point of reaching enlightment and breaking whith the cycle of reincarnations, they choose to postpone it and remain among their brethrens to help them on the arduous way to enlightment.


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## mally pense

*What are your misconceptions about Buddhism?* 

My misconception about Buddhism is that I have no misconceptions about Buddhism.

Seriously though, is it conceptually possible to know one's own misconceptions?

Mally


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## ColdomadeusX

palomnik said:


> Colmo:
> 
> two things, both of which make it difficult to answer your question, have particularly struck me about Buddhism: one was that it tended to be a "leavening" of other beliefs, in the areas where it existed. In China it found a common basis of identity with Taoism, in Japan with Shinto, in Tibet with Bon, in Southeast Asia with the native spiritualism. In all these cases the outward form that Buddhism assumed partook of the local religious practice, and the local religion in turn was heavily influenced by Buddhist beliefs, primarily those beliefs involving reincarnation and the use of meditation as a religious practice. In some countries this process went so far as for Buddhism to virtually disappear as a separate entity, such as in India, where its beliefs were eventually rolled into later Hindu developments, and Central Asia, where it was superseded by Islam but where its various spiritual techniques and practices often resurfaced in an Islamic form.
> 
> The second thing that struck me - and in a sense this is related to the first - was that the outward forms that Buddhism has taken are legion. From the austerity of Zen to the elaborate ritualism of Tibetan Buddhism to the reliance on personal salvation of Pure Land, it's hard for an outsider to see the overall pattern. That Buddhists, for the most part, take for granted that all of these are legitimate expressions of Buddhism makes it even more difficult for Westerners to understand.
> 
> Aside from the "ethnic Buddhists" that I've met in the States, there are a sizable number of people that have been attracted to Buddhism and have allowed Buddhism to be an influence in their lives. In some cases this leads to the navel-gazing type, but it also includes many committed Buddhists of this type that support nonviolence, vegetarianism, and returning to a more natural way of life than is common in most of society. I suppose that this is the "leavening" of Buddhism taking place in American society, and it certainly seems a positive thing to me.
> 
> To get back to your question, I suppose I'm saying that given the nature of Buddhism it's difficult to pinpoint "misconceptions" in such an amorphous topic.


 
Sorry for taking so long to reply.
OK, well firstly, you are right about Buddhism mixing with the culture and other religions that surround it in wherever you happen to live. Buddhism, I find has incorporated itself into everyday life especially in alot of Asian countries by mixing with common beliefs and cultures held by the area's population. By that I mean pretty much what you have said-that Taoism,Shintoism, even many Hindus and Islamic people are said to practise sub braches of Buddhism. However, this is prefectly fine because according to all the records we have of the Buddha's teachings, he never wanted his beliefs and what he was teaching the world to come into conflict with anything else out there. Buddhism is merely like a set of guidelines in life; 'these are some things that may help you become a better person in life but you don't have to follow them.'.It's that kind of thing. Like diet books. Many people believe them to be an essential part of life while others just take bits and pieces of advice from the books and incorporate them into their own lives in their own way.The same can be said of Buddhism-mainly because it doesn't come into conflict with much that is said in religions such as Taoism and Shintoism. Buddhism is a way of life, not a set of laws.

Secondly, Buddhism can be interpreted by many people in many ways. Because there are so many sub branches of Buddhism and so many kinds, it's not hard to see why Buddhism itself is so diverse. Many westerners do not understand this because many of them are ignorant of the fact presented so far and because of this are under the misconception that there is only one type of Buddhism.

As for your last comment, it is true that quite a few Buddhists in the Western world end up "navel-grazing" tree huggers. But in the end it's their choice. Which is really, the great thing about Buddhism. The fact that it ca be practised in so many different ways and still be Buddhism. However, like you said, we are beggining to see more Western Buddhists who incorporate Buddhism into their daily lives without disrupting anything around them. I myself am a Buddhist living in Australia and I feel right at home with my religion/way of life. It has never interfered with anything I've done (maybe except killing frogs for dissection in Biology) but really, I think that it is not hard to understand why people don't have trouble living with the values and beliefs that they have traditionally been brought up with and Buddhism at the same time. Because unless your way of life involves serial rape, murder, or something along those lines then it's not hard to practise Buddhism. In fact, we do believe that there is some form of redemption for anyone in life for everyone but that's another story.


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## ColdomadeusX

Kajjo said:


> I figure that to understand Buddhism you need to know about the concepts of Hinduism as well. It appears to be fundamental to buddhism to believe in previous lifes and reincarnation, even if no one remembers anything about previous lifes of his own. For me this is a critical point, because it seems to be impossible to learn from earlier lifes if you do not remember your right and wrong decisions. For an outsider it appears to be only a justification for different positions and perspectives in life.
> 
> Further, I gather that buddhists believe that the previous lifes somehow influence the current life -- by what force, I do not understand. Magic or gods? Just the way it is? How is this _karma_ conveyed, stored, applied, judged?
> 
> Further, I think that buddhists believe in reincarnation, but want to escape from this eternal cycle. I really do not understand this concept, because from my point of view, life is precious and why should someone surrender his possibility of reincarnation?
> 
> About misconceptions and prejudices: Buddhists are known as peaceful and caring persons, or valueing life in all its forms. I cannot see how buddhists can start from the point "there is so much bad in the world", when in fact this world is most amazing, spectacular and all we have anyway.
> 
> You explanation talked about "understanding all". Why is this so important for you? We know very, very much more nowadays than was known to people at the time of Gautama. Is understanding all necessary or just desirable? What is meant by "all", everything like natural laws or just trancendantal things like what life is for?
> 
> If most buddhist will surely fail to become buddha, why is it so worthwhile to try anyway? As I understand it, reincarnation will occur anyway, leaving you where you started?
> 
> Kajjo


 
OK, to answer the first question: Hinduism and Buddhism share alot of the same principals and are often likened to that. As a result many of our beliefs are the same. This means that you do not need an understanding of the Hindu religion to understand Buddhism because they can be interpreted differently. Because some of our beliefs are the same but not all, Buddhism and Hinduism in essence are similar but are not the same. So ultimately, you can choose to just understand one of them. It's like braches of churches,etc. They all believe in god but the stories they have are different. Like Buddhism and Hinduism, our beliefs can be compared but cannot be derived from each other.

Also, previous lives and future lives are all relative and yes, they are a BIG part of Buddhism. (This should also explain the answer to your second question) OK, to be able to understand more about reincarnation one needs to understand a bit more about Karma. What is Karma, well, Karma is alot like energy. Like yin and yang, it can be described as positive and negative. Basically, it is the influences of what you have done in the past that affect your present and what you do in the present affects your future. For example, say you are a mass murderer, you get away with your crimes for years and nothing happens. Then one day you get caught and karma catches up to you. Suddenly, all the bad things you've done in your past have caught up to you and are influencing what is happening to you now. Because you were caught, you go on trial, because you go on trial, you are convicted, sent to prison and suffer out the rest of your existence in a jail cell.
This is a pretty general example and I'm not saying that you have to be a murderer for karma to work. Even little things, such as accidentally spilling coffee on a white top can be put down to karma- you spill on white top because you're not careful and suddenly you have a stain on your top.
This is how karma works.
How Karma influences your life and you next life is that basically, what you've done in your past lives influences your life at the moment. You don't need to feel any connection to your last life in order for there to be repercussions to what you did. If you were a good person who gave to the poor, things like that in a previous life then maybe the effects on this life will be that as a result you have become rich in this life.

I'm not sure what you mean by escaping the eternal cycle. Because as Buddhists we know that ultimately we are all part of thew cycle and therefore cannot escape it. Buddhists do noit try to deny the fact that they might be reincarnated into an insect but a major point in Buddhism is to avoid things like these by practising "good ways" in life. We can try to change our positions in the wheel but we know that we can't escape it.

As for your comment about Buddhists believing that there is so much bad in the world, I don't believe that you understand some of the things that Buddhism in essence tries to convey. Yes, there is a lot of bad in the world and to be as narrow minded to say that the world is all good and everything is wonderful and spectacular would be like saying that tropical fish are beautiful in tanks so we can overlook the fact that they crap in tanks, eat their own faeces and then we have to clean whatever's leftover. What Buddhism tries to teach is that there is good AND bad in the world and that we should strive to make the world a better place. I'm not saying that you should become a member of Greenpeace or an avid Animal Rights Activist but it's really the little things that count. Like giving spare change to the homeless guy on the corner. It's not a big deal but it helps.

What is meant by "understanding all" is that Buddha achieved a state of mind where he understood why there was suffering in the world, how it came about, what we could do to help. And basically why things were and how things become what they are. It's like the postition of everything in life-he understood exactly why we are here and everything behind that. I've already answered something similar of another forero when someone asked me if it is better to be a Buddhist or become a Buddha. Ultimately, we do strive to become Buddhas but we also accept that for most people this will never be a reality and so we are content with being Buddhists. We would like to become like Buddha and attain enlightenment but we know it is not a reality fro many so we just keep trying to do whatever we can.-Practise Buddhism to improve our lives.(and our future lives). THis is the main reason why we try so hard. It's liek a Christian view on Heaven except not so black and white. i.e. We don't want to end up as an animal or in hell in our next life so we try hard to do good in this life so we can have a better life and a better next life. With Christians I think it's more that if you do good in this life then you go to heaven and if you don't then you go to hell-there's no in between; therefore why I called it black and white (straightforward).


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## ColdomadeusX

Blehh. said:


> The word "Buddha" does not exclusively refer to Siddharta Gautama himself. It really just means "enlightened one" or "one who has reached nirvana". Anyone is capable of being a Buddha, and it is taught that one can do it by following the precepts of Buddhism if they wish to do so.


 
Absolutely!



mally pense said:


> *What are your misconceptions about Buddhism?*
> 
> My misconception about Buddhism is that I have no misconceptions about Buddhism.
> 
> Seriously though, is it conceptually possible to know one's own misconceptions?
> 
> Mally


 
Geez, that's a deep one... But I think that of course it is possible to know one's misconceptions. All you have to do is test your knowledge of whatever you already know of the topic. That would prove to you whether or not you had misconceptions in the first place.


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## mally pense

That's not really "knowing", more discovering or testing. However, I will concede that the originator of this topic may very well have intended to provoke such an exporation.


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## Sepia

A general misconception about Buddhists is that they are pacifists to such an extent that they would (or should) not defend themselves. 
Not even the Dalai Lama supports that attitude.


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## mally pense

That's obviously not _your_ misconception though, so I would suggest that you're wildly off topic!

Only joking! _(Please forgive me!)._ I really only posted this reply so I could correct a typo in my previous post: "exporation" should be "exploration". Obvious maybe, but not to someone looking it up as a 'new' word in the dictionary.


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## Arrius

How can a person say what his misconceptions are?  My impressions of Buddhism which may or may not be correct are quite favourable. Although there appear to be various forms of it, I feel, rightly or wrongly, that there are no lunatic fringes in Buddhism liable to try to impose their way of thinking on others or simply to destroy their real or supposed opponents as happens in all the other major world religions.  My main impression is of peace and goodwill to men, combined with a most sensible desire to live in harmony with nature, so that the opposing forces of ying and yang may be in balance.  I have never heard of a Buddhist being violent except when they were driven to resist the Chinese.  I find Buddhism to be a religion that would, more than any other, provide satisfactory solutions to the world's current problems. I do not know if this post is in line with what the mod says - please delete it if it isn't.


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## cherine

I think this thread shouldn't have been there in the first place. I was confused by it, and not sure whether it should stay or not. Apparently, it shouldn't.
It's an indirect research, or more of an invitation to research.

So, whoever is interesting in learning about Buddhism, or any other religion, please take the time to research in the proper resources. This forum is for cultural discussion, not research, nor to introduce our religions and believes.

Thanks.


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