Buddhism

[Pheena]

Sufis have beautiful names for God; in all they have ninety-nine names for God. One wonders why not one hundred? It looks so incomplete. For a certain, subtle reason, the hundredth name has been kept

silent. That is the true name of God which cannot be uttered. The tao that can be uttered is not the true

tao and the God that can be spoken of is not the true God, because the word 'God' falsifies the reality of

God. So the hundredth name is the true name—what Hindus call 'satnam', the true name—but it can't be

uttered. It will lose its beauty if it is uttered. It remains unuttered, at the deepest core of the heart. But

ninety-nine names can be uttered just as a help to reach the hundredth. The hundredth name is almost a

nothingness—what buddhas have called 'nirvana', nothingness.

Just as flowers arise from the earth and go back to the earth for eternal rest, you come from existence and

you return to existence if you have an easy heart. Then you will not be coming again into the

imprisonment of a body. You will simply go back to the very source you have come from, to eternal rest.

That eternal rest is nirvana, that eternal rest is moksha, that eternal rest is liberation, that eternal rest is

samadhi, truth, enlightenment—different names for the same experience. You have come back home,

and you have come back home dancing, with no regret, with no complaint, with easy hearts, peacefully

and silently to disappear. This is the most exquisite experience,

when you are on the verge of

disappearing with an easy and relaxed heart, a simple and pure let-go.

[SunSingh]

Maybe this katha will help you:

http://www.gursikhijeevan.com/media/audio/..._Ishar_Singh_Ji

sbisj - Mahatma Buddha.mp3

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Ji, once you have made the decision to become guru walla you should not turn your back on the guru. Sikhi is the easiest, fastest path. sikhi has dhur ki bani, sikhi has gurmantur, nobody else does. listen to katha by giani takhur singh or baba kartar singh from gurmatveechar.com to learn more. they have very deep explanations.

Also, maybe reading literature from scholars such as bhai vir singh or reading sant jeevans such as se kineheya of baba harnam singh would help you. it is very informative and inspiring. good luck.

[Pheena]

"I don't think Budh in that shabad implies to Buddha. The shabad is Implying your Budh, your Intellect. But i'd liike more explanation as to how it says Buddha is in Gyaan Khand? I could be wrong, so please clear my doubts."

Pheena, both Sahib Singh, and Gyani Narayan Singh Pandit have translating ‘Budh’ in that tukh as ‘Budh avtar'(Buddha) and not as intellect.

Would u happen to know where i can find one or both of Sahib Singh or Gyani jis Translations??

But i do have few Question, perhaps you can answer. So according to Sahib singh or Gyani ji, buddha did not acheive Liberation or merge with God?? Giaan Khand being lower than Sach Khand..he spent 6 years in search to find the source only to fall short of merging with god??

[SunSingh]

Gurmat and Dhamma

Dr Kanwar Ranvir Singh

If you go to the Golden Temple one of the most interesting things you will observe are some Tibetan pilgrims who come to pray there, bowing down at each of their steps. These people are Buddhists who may belong to one of the numerous sects of Tibetan Buddhism, who regard Guru Nanak as Guru Rinpoche. Guru Padmasambhava brought Buddhism to Tibet and they regard the Guru as a reincarnation of the precious one, ‘Rinpoche’.There are many teachings in common – the middle path of living, the importance of congregation called sangam/sangat, the importance of meditation, the individual’s responsibility for their destiny, even the archetypal images of the warrior monk, in Gurmat the saint-soldier tradition.

Sikhs equally have great reverence for Buddhist teachers. It is a matter of no small pride that a Sikh escorted the Dalai Lama to India when he exiled Tibet. Indeed, Punjab, the Sikh homeland, was formerly called Gandhara, the home of Mahayana Buddhism. This goes back to a period when the Dhamma was revered by almost half the people of the world.

The main difference is that whereas the Buddha-nature is held to All Pervasive but people must make efforts to realise it, the Guru-nature is also All-Pervasive but reaches out to everyone. It is a matter of effort against Grace. However, in reality the difference is perhaps a matter of emphasis since the Mahayana tradition lays a special stress on compassion inherent in the universe finding expression in the figure of the Bodhistavva. On the other hand, the Sikh tradition also speaks of the need to choose; otherwise, there is no gift of life, and Universal Amazing Grace is not a gift, but a

n imposition.

There are portions of the Guru Granth Sahib which have close relations with Buddhist thought. For instance, many of the sloks of Baba Kabir are strikingly similar to Zen koans. Moreover, while he condemns the practise of hajj (Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca), he speaks highly of the ‘bald heads’. These may have been shaven Buddhist monks. After Buddhism rose to ascendancy in India, the brahmins (Hindu priests) worked for its elimination through massacres of monks, conversion of Buddhist meditation centres into temples, claiming that Buddha was an incarnation of the god Vishnu with the implication that to revere Buddha one must also revere Vishnu, adoption of some of its teachings such as vegetarianism (unknown to the Hindus who composed the Rig Veda which mentions the sacrifices and eating of horses), and corruption of its techniques such as tantra.

Similar patterns may be seen today with regard to the Sikhs. Attacks on Golden Temple, genocide of Sikhs, targeting of amridharis, creation of myth of Dusht Daman and Hemkunt Sahib (the alleged Hindu rishi who was reborn as Guru Gobind Singh), adoption of principles such as the removal of caste restrictions and, in particular, langar the Sikh communal kitchen, and continual claim that Sikhs are hair-keeping Hindus established to protect Hinduism from Islam through military means which is a distortion of the purpose of the revelation of Khalsa as vanguard of new world order (Akaal Purkh Ki Fauj). At best, the Sikh may be an individual seeker for escape from the world or mukti in which case Khalsa is interpreted as ‘pure’ – Khalis. This, of course, destroys the raj of the Khalsa, the world-transformation which is integral to the Sikh unity of Meeri-Peeri, universal spirituality and spiritual revolution. The present attacks on the Sikh faith shed light on the elimination of Buddhism from Indian soil, and equally the history of Buddhism provides a warning to Sikhs about the techniques which may be marshalled against them.

The destructi

on of Buddhism in India means that many of the obvious and interesting parallels such as use of terms like “sunnya” (the Void), “nirvana”, “nau nidhs” (nine jewels) have not been explored by the Sikh scholars whose lens are coloured by the jaundiced eye in which the Dhamma was misrepresented in India. There may be even more not so obvious parallels. For instance verses of Gurbani state, “The responsibility of humankind is to walk along the Royal Road of the Law – this message is sent with His sacred horse and proclaimed as the Guru’s Word by beat of drum” (Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 142).

The wind horse (lung da) of Tibetan Buddhism is a horse which brings happiness and good fortune, which is symbolised by the jewel of its back, wherever it goes. This jewel or mani is the philosophers’s stone that transforms people from lead to gold, from self-centred to Life-centred. God and God’s Name is considered as the jewel in the Sikh tradition as the Law is in Buddhism, but in both traditions, Buddha/Guru-bani or Guru’s Word is also the philosopher’s stone, and also the sangat or fellowship. In the sangat one comes to realise the nine jewels of meditation.

The image of the wind horse is printed on prayer flags which as the wind blows sets the horse in motion carrying prayers for happiness and good fortune to the ten directions. It is interesting in this connection that Guru Gobind Singh is depicted in iconography riding a blue horse, with a white hawk on his arm. One difference between Gurmat and Buddhism is the clear monotheism of the Gurus as against the agnosticism or even atheism of some proponents of the Dhamma. “All the Buddhas created by Thee, proclaim Thee.” (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, p.6) It is often said that Buddha was an atheist, but from a Sikh perspective it may be argued that he was simply silent about the existence of a God or not, since he regarded it as irrelevant to his method.

-http://www.sikhwomen.com/sikhism

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Sikhi and Other Religions

Buddhism

Sim

ilarities

Buddha tried to abolish the caste system and believed in the idea of brotherhood.

Complete disregard for forms and rituals and emphasis on purity of the heart and sincerity in our dealings with others.

Buddha preached in the spoken language of the people and did not believe in the sanctity of any one language.

Differences

Buddhism does not believe in the need for God, in that sense Buddhist doctrine is absolutely atheistic.

"By forgetting the Supreme Lord, all the ailments cling to the man. The non-believers in the Omnipresent Lord suffer separation from Him, birth after birth." (Guru Arjan Dev, Majh, pg. 135)

Buddhist belief that to live is to suffer.

"But rare is such a slave and serf of the Lord, who understands the Reality of the union with Him. He (the follower) has no pain, but all comforts and with his eyes, he sees only the One Lord." (Guru Arjan Dev, Kanra, pg. 1302)

"There is joy, bliss and happiness in my home. I sing the praise of the Name, reflect on the Name and the Name is the support of my vital breath." (Guru Arjan Dev, Kanra, pg. 1302)

The end of life is Nirvana, which is complete extinction. The Gurus idea of Nirvana was eternal bliss as the soul merges with God.

"He who is devoted towards the Lord in his mind, he gets eternal bliss and realises the Lord and the state of Nirvana" (Guru Ram Das, Asa, pg. 444)

Sikhi does not have any order of monks or nuns.

-http://sikhi.waheguroo.com/?sec=2⊂=4&page=04

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I would like to add that I do not believe Buddhism is atheistic. There are atheistic sects, and also sects which believe in God. However, they do not rely on God's grace like Sikhs do, they believe in self effort. It seems that God is outside the scope of Buddhism. I have heard the Dalai Lama himself say that he is unsure if God exists. For that reason, I would regard it in general as being neutral towards God.

Also, Buddhism is patriarchical, unlike

Sikhi.

I hope this helps you somewhat.

[ms514]

Sat Sri Akal:

Pheena Ji, no problems Ji. Manmukhs like myself are unable to understand who is being adressed. Sorry.

Another problem that I run into with Buddhism is what text is considered a part of Buddhism. There is no one singular text that is seen as the primary source of guidance like the Guru Granth Sahib in Sikhism. There are some branches in Buddhism as well, so the philosophy/perspectives that various followers of Buddhism (and consequently the texts they refer to) also have variations.

[>Bikramjit Singh<]

buddha, like jesus mohamaad, etc. were all great

much much better than me

but not at sach khand

at giaan khand

the plane of spiritual wisdom

thas y they got s much gian and shakti

but all our life shud be is about vaheguru jes sipht

and budhhas teachings dont even really tell u if there is a god

even the dali lama will never answer is there a god or not

and sikhi says to praise god with all ure breaths

but they cant even say god exists

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

Just on a minor point. Can we keep to what Gurbani says and start to ADD bits on according to our own views?

Nowhere in Japji Sahib does it state that Jesus and Mohammed are in Gian Khand. Had they been there, there is no doubt that Guru Nanak would have added their names to the list of the people in Gian Khand. Jesus and Mohammed might be important and well known around the world but Guru Nanak states that the countless number of Sidhs, Naths etc were in Gian Khand because they followed the path towards self realisation and fighting the five vices. Read any biography of Mohammed, even the ultra PC sanitised versions and you will realise that he gave full rein to the five vices and did not attempt to control them. So how can he be in the Gian Khand, the realm of divine knowledge?

GurFateh

>Bikramjit

[jagsinrags]

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa

Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Dhan Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.... The other day I was listening to a katha on Sukh Sagar Radio, the Katha watchak said that We humans cannot understand God with normal five senses...Waheguru could not be defined in any word or language. I dont know much about Budhism but I have a vague idea that Budhism also talks about love but Sikhism also talks about Love, Sacrifice, self-defence and helping others

..........................................................................

If you want to know more about Japji Sahib, Sikhism, Waheguru then goto:

http://proudtobesikh.com/ and search for keyword 'japji' and listen to the katha by Bhai Thaker Singh Khalsa Ji. This Katha on japji sahib is in 81 parts. Its very deep and takes several times to grasp some little meanings. Dear Sister, I'm myself struggling to become a Sikh. I was a clean shaved person a few months back but now I wear dastar by Guru Ji's grace but still feel that my mind is not good enough as expected of a Sikh.

Phen Ji lets trust Guru Ji and try to follow His teachings without any doubts.

One day we will be blessed with Naam.

may Waheguru ji help us all and save us from falling down any further

[Ryu Hayabusa]

I get the feeling that this thread has become "Buddha is only in Gian Khand thus his path was wrong". If you read the pauri it is describing how beautiful this level is, NO WHERE does it say that Buddha or Krishna have ONLY made it there and are stuck there.

Maybe Buddha is in Gian Khand to teach people who have made it there, alot of Avtars volunteer to go back and teach even though they can merge....

[Singh47]

Pheena, you can find the complete Sahib Singh teeka online in the following link:

http://www.gurugranthdarpan.com/

as for Giani Narayan Singh Jee, well his translations are not available online, but you might be able to find his translation in a Sikh book store.

“But i do have few Question, perhaps you can answer. So according to Sahib singh or Gyani ji, buddha did not acheive Liberation or merge with God?? Giaan Khand being lower than Sach Khand..he spent 6 years in search to find the source only to fall short of merging with god??”

I don’t think it’s according to Gyani jee or Sahib Singh, but it is according to Guru Nanak Dev Jee who has written it in Sri Japjee Sahib. Also, you have to understand what Buddhism is all about. It is about liberation, but they don’t give God any importance. Infact they don’t even believe in the concept of a God. They want to achieve liberation without giving emphasis on God, which I think is not possible. At most they will reach Gian Khand, but not any further. Buddha himself may or may not have believed in God as he was silent on this issue, but Buddhism definitely does not.

[Gupt daasan daas]

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

please tell me wat this means

raam rheem puraan kuraan inek kahain mathek ik na manyao

bhula chuka maf

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!