by Kusala Bhikshu
(From a talk given at a High School in Los Angeles.)
It seems these days in Los Angeles, it's OK to do or be anything you want sexually... And if you're lucky enough to find your true sexual identity, you will be happy and fulfilled the rest of your life.
Well, in this world of *Samsara it just doesn't work that way.
The Buddha more than anything else was a man, who went from childhood to manhood, got married, and at the age of 29 had his first child. He went through all the stages men go through sexually, but at the age of 35 ended his sexual desire forever in *Nirvana.
The big question today is... Does the desire for sex always lead to suffering? The answer is, Yes! But the reason may surprise you.
The Buddha in everything he said about sex implies... The activity of sex will never ultimately satisfy the desire for sex.
Now this is a real bummer if you think about it. You can have sex a 1000 times, and want it a 1001. You can be 90 years old... Blind and cripple... Still want to have sex, and not be physically able to. You will never get rid of your sexual desire by having sex. In fact, it seems the more sex you have, the more sex you want.
Showing posts with label Kusala Bhikshu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kusala Bhikshu. Show all posts
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Do Buddhists Believe in God?
by Kusala Bhikshu
(A talk given at a high school in Los Angeles.)
Why is it... The Buddha never talked about the One God of the desert, the Judeo-Christian God? Does this mean that all Buddhists are atheists and don’t believe in God? Did the Buddha believe in God?
These are some of the questions I would like to try and answer today.
The Buddha was born 500 years before Christ, in what is now Nepal. His dad was a king, his mom was a queen, and his dad wanted him to take over the family business (the kingdom) when he got older.
The kind of world the Buddha was born into was magical. Everything seemed to be alive. The trees, mountains, lakes, and sky were living and breathing with a variety of gods in charge. If you needed rain you asked one god, if you needed it to stop raining you asked another. The priests of India did all the religious work, and got paid for it.
In India at the time of the Buddha you became a priest if you were born into the right family, and not because of the school you went to, or the grades you got.
There were other kinds of religious people as well.
Mendicants were men who left their family, friends, and jobs to find the answers to life. They did not live in homes or apartments, but lived under trees and in caves, and would practice meditation all day long. They wanted to really be uncomfortable, so they could understand what suffering was all about.
Many kinds of meditation were practiced by these mendicants. In Tranquility Meditation for instance, you think about just one thing, like looking at a candle or saying a word over and over. When the mind becomes focused in oneness, you experience a great peacefulness.
(A talk given at a high school in Los Angeles.)
Why is it... The Buddha never talked about the One God of the desert, the Judeo-Christian God? Does this mean that all Buddhists are atheists and don’t believe in God? Did the Buddha believe in God?
These are some of the questions I would like to try and answer today.
The Buddha was born 500 years before Christ, in what is now Nepal. His dad was a king, his mom was a queen, and his dad wanted him to take over the family business (the kingdom) when he got older.
The kind of world the Buddha was born into was magical. Everything seemed to be alive. The trees, mountains, lakes, and sky were living and breathing with a variety of gods in charge. If you needed rain you asked one god, if you needed it to stop raining you asked another. The priests of India did all the religious work, and got paid for it.
In India at the time of the Buddha you became a priest if you were born into the right family, and not because of the school you went to, or the grades you got.
There were other kinds of religious people as well.
Mendicants were men who left their family, friends, and jobs to find the answers to life. They did not live in homes or apartments, but lived under trees and in caves, and would practice meditation all day long. They wanted to really be uncomfortable, so they could understand what suffering was all about.
Many kinds of meditation were practiced by these mendicants. In Tranquility Meditation for instance, you think about just one thing, like looking at a candle or saying a word over and over. When the mind becomes focused in oneness, you experience a great peacefulness.
Friday, March 26, 2010
How I Became a Buddhist
by Kusala Bhikshu
One of the questions I'm asked most often is... How did I become a Buddhist?
I was born and baptized a Lutheran in Iowa. My family moved to Arizona in 1954, I was five and have many fond memories of the Southwest. I spent my high school years in Wisconsin and in 1969 moved to Los Angeles, California. Because my teenage years were spent in the 60's -- "Don't trust anyone over 30 and question all authority" -- I became an agnostic.
At the age of twenty-eight, I went through what you might call an early mid-life crisis. I quit my job of seven years and went on a forty-five day road trip. I drove cross-country, sleeping at rest stops, in cheap motels, and campgrounds. The road trip offered me a chance to see how other people lived, and time to reflect on what my life was all about.
Back in Los Angeles, I found a new job, and within a year my old company rehired me. I quit smoking, joined a gym, and started looking into what it meant to be a conscious human being.
One day, this wonderful woman came into my life. She was beautiful, kind, and easy to be with. A selfless quality that seemed to come from her religious faith filled the air with love and warmth. She was a devout Christian, and I started going to church.
It wasn't long before I realized church and Christianity was not my cup of green tea. I lacked faith, I was skeptical and needed proof. I needed something more than words, I needed a personal experience. I wasn't feeling anything sitting passively in a pew, I wanted to be an active participant in my own salvation.
One of the questions I'm asked most often is... How did I become a Buddhist?
I was born and baptized a Lutheran in Iowa. My family moved to Arizona in 1954, I was five and have many fond memories of the Southwest. I spent my high school years in Wisconsin and in 1969 moved to Los Angeles, California. Because my teenage years were spent in the 60's -- "Don't trust anyone over 30 and question all authority" -- I became an agnostic.
At the age of twenty-eight, I went through what you might call an early mid-life crisis. I quit my job of seven years and went on a forty-five day road trip. I drove cross-country, sleeping at rest stops, in cheap motels, and campgrounds. The road trip offered me a chance to see how other people lived, and time to reflect on what my life was all about.
Back in Los Angeles, I found a new job, and within a year my old company rehired me. I quit smoking, joined a gym, and started looking into what it meant to be a conscious human being.
One day, this wonderful woman came into my life. She was beautiful, kind, and easy to be with. A selfless quality that seemed to come from her religious faith filled the air with love and warmth. She was a devout Christian, and I started going to church.
It wasn't long before I realized church and Christianity was not my cup of green tea. I lacked faith, I was skeptical and needed proof. I needed something more than words, I needed a personal experience. I wasn't feeling anything sitting passively in a pew, I wanted to be an active participant in my own salvation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
