A confession from Johan

Johan511

Johan511

Old Schooler
Joined
Jan 24, 2001
Messages
379
Location
Minot, North Dakota
I've been a member here for a while, and this is my "HOME-BASE" so to speak. And it was laid upon my heart to tell you what i'm about to speak of ---

If you've read a great number of my posts you can discern that I am a very spiritual person. I grew up in a Christian family, and a capitalist society. And as a young man I gave my heart to GOD, but it wasn't until much later that I found a religion that allowed me to take my spirituality to another level- Buddhism. I have to tell you my friends that Buddhism and its teachings are a wonderful start on the path to Nirvana, which litterly means to Breath OUT. It does not carry commandments, and it does not promote the power of man, only the power of wisdom. I will also tell you that I'm not a religious man, I am only spiritual, and lately I have began to see how asleep I have been all of these years. I will just like to encourage all of you to read about Buddhism and try to understand it's deeper meanings..
Any discussion is wecome
wink.gif

Thx
Love Ya's


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To the top, i command it!

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Why did you find that christianity wasn't enough?

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I have to say "those wise old men" just made complete sense to me, even though my grandfather as a preacher always took me to the Christian side of spirituality. Christianity today seems to be based upon guilt.....and I think it has lost it's true meaning in the western world as i've seen from even the most devoted Christian.

But there are great Christians out there still, still doing God's work, and I respect them, but I think many lose the battle of ego because of the guilt that the modern churches of Christianity have taught and the way a capitialist society teaches it's people to learn.

I don't have any hard feelings against the church, my wife is Catholic and I was raised Baptist, now that's a combination for you!....but we both Love God and that’s the real difference. And we are able to embrace Buddhism as a method of learning. As I said before, I’m not even religious, there’s a point where you have to progress beyond all of that and just flow!


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[This message has been edited by Johan511 (edited July 02, 2001).]
 
I feel as though I must say more: SO here it is -- A few months ago I had the privlege to speak again with an old friend who has been caught up with is ego and the GAME....I love this man very much and as soon as I started he started talking about World Religions, and I tried to remind him that the game he was playing was a Fools game at best....
I told him that the first step toward self mastery is the hard one. I implored him to Sit back, close his eyes and relax. I said "Now comes the hard part: you must decide to be totally honest with yourself." His first inclination was to say, "I've always honest with myself. And I told him that in reality the opposite iwas true, He had lied to himself countless times each day. And further more, he believes that all his lies to be truth,in fact, all of his lies justified his actions. This is the trap of the mind. As long as you believe this false truth the game will continue.
My best friend was me.

Make up your mind that you won't settle for the self-lies anymore. You must decide to face the inner truth and come to terms with what you discover about yourself. Sit back, and examine your life, your desires, your dreams, your relationships. Ask yourself if you are truly happy with your life. You will find that your feelings are deeply repressed within you. If you don't make extreme efforts to probe yourself, the truth will elude you. Even now, with all my pleas and rationale, you will not seek the answers. Your great self-lie will predominate and truth will be lost. In the Lankavatara Sutra it states:


It is like seeing one's own image in a mirror and in water...as a man clings to his own false assumptions, he erroneously discriminates between truth and falsehood, and on account of this false discrimination he fails to go beyond the dualism of opposites, indeed he cherishes falsity and cannot attain tranquillity.

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[This message has been edited by Johan511 (edited July 02, 2001).]
 
All this is a bit weird guys....

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I love to hear drake and his words of remembrance....
He says BUT BEFORE YOU WERE SAYING THAT YOU HAD PARTAKEN OF THE EARTH AND NOW YOU TRY TO SPEAK TRUTH TO ME-- You think that I (the MAN behind these words) doesn't still love that passion of man.

I dreamt of COCAIN last night, although I've Only done it ONCE in my life -- and My wife will contest that she dreamt of it too.
And when I awoke I asked the Friend X the man that had allowed me to try it, because you see I am not afraid to try something. And I felt nothing I tell you, just a heightened since of awareness, it wasn't until LAST NIGHT in my dream that I really got high from COKE, and felt it's need. Friend X also told me that everything that was bad in is life that ever happened, happened around COKE, but I could not feel his pain you see, because God had spared me already, and all i got from it was a heightened awareness.
SO I called Friend X this morning, which has now turned into yesterday and I told him that my wife and I had dreamt of the drug and that I had finally felt it's wonderful allure and he said this to me "Coke is a message from God telling you that you have too much money".

I'm not going to give everyone the moral of the story yet, but I will say that GOD had spoke through me to speak to him, and that's what I'm doing here right now. And I have NO regrets or blushes about the issue, I'm just giving it to you few selected STRAIGHT UP!
Try to swallow that one -- because deep with in that man, and I'm not speaking through my words here, but OF GOD's!

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[This message has been edited by Johan511 (edited July 02, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Johan511 (edited July 02, 2001).]
 
You may ask, what will happen if you don't undertake this self examination and discover your real feelings and fears? The answer is: absolutely nothing. Your life will continue in the same way as it is now. The real questions are: Do you really desire change in your life? Do you see the need for self truth? Do you realize you are floundering like a fish out of water? Most people are so used to lying to themselves that the truth appears to them as lies. You are so programmed by the society you live in that truth has little chance of being observed. You are caught in a money world, a power world, a status world, a world of physical pleasures, always seeking but never finding. You have been drugged. You are now immune to truth. The only ones who have a chance to make the breakthrough are those who have had enough of the fool's game.

And they are usually the people who have hit the bottom of the barrel in life here, i.e. a thread called (I'm an Alcoholic) I from the bottom of my heart I mean no disrespectto Simon Darkshade by saying this, I'm talking truely about that click he felt! These Fellows have been beaten down so many times they become open for change in any form. Only when life is about to end do you realize all your shortcomings. Of course then it is too late. Those who see the need for change are those who understand their impermanence in this world. Those who see the need for change see their deep rooted fears and doubts. Those that see the need for change see it because they are now ready to see it.


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Dude, no offense but you're totally full of ****
smile.gif


Indulging in drugs or alcohol goes against the buddhist code of morality. Either you're with that or you're not. And from the sounds of all these space cadet posts, I'd say you're not with the code.
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I'm not Buddhist...and furthermore from what you just said proves you know know little abut Buddhism. I'm recommending Buddhism as a start line for the path to Nirvana. and Nirvana is to breath OUT.

I have no religion I am purely spirtual.
Upon my word as a HUMAN!
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[This message has been edited by Johan511 (edited July 02, 2001).]
 
Are you ready? Only by trying will you find out. Give yourself a chance to find out by making some effort to improve your life condition. There is no task more worthwhile, for once you enter the deepest recesses of your mind, you will exist as a totally different person and you will emerge as the enlightened one, the Buddha.

If you are honest with yourself, you are among the minority, as most can not be brutally honest with themselves. The majority will perpetuate the great lie and continue their lives unchanged right up to the grave. However, once you realize your true state of being - fearful, unhappy, and bewildered of the meaning of it all - you are then ready to transform. The journey now begins. The next step is to obtain the tools you need to manifest the necessary changes in your life.


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Hypothetically speaking, what if you don't want to be enlightened and or changed? What if you're already happy with your place in the universe?

Also, about using drugs or alcohol-

I'm not Buddhist...and furthermore from what you just said proves you know know little abut Buddhism.
Click to expand...

How do you figure? Indulgence in drugs and alcohol IS strictly forbidden in buddhist teachings.

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Alpha Centauri is calling for you spaceman
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Those who have realised what the Buddha was really teaching have no desire to preach.
They do not seek listeners.
Instead they go about their daily lives, and if people come to them they listen.

"Before enlightenment, chopping wood, carrying water.
After enlightenment, chopping wood, carrying water."

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Hugh Hefner is my god.

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<IMG SRC="http://forums.civfanatics.com/ubb/blast.gif" border=0><FONT size="4"><FONT COLOR="blue">All knowledge begins with the Phrase:</FONT c><FONT COLOR="red"> I don't know</FONT c></FONT s><IMG SRC="http://forums.civfanatics.com/ubb/ninja1.gif" border=0>
<FONT COLOR="blue">Tuatha De Denann Tribe</FONT c>
 
My only contact with Buddhism comes from reading, thinking about and enjoying "The Dharma Bums" by Jack Kerouac. That and "On The Road" always seem to make me feel fresher and more positive when reading them.
If Buddhism, or a variant, is your thing Johan, then go for it. I hope you suceed in your quest for enlightenment and Nirvana.
Personally, I can change my life with the path I have chosen, but thanks for bringing it up. It is an interesting topic, and works well with your inimitable style.

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Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you.
- N.S.Khrushchev
 
Stormerne I respect you very much, and I say this to you all, I AM NOT A BUDDHA....I need you guys, otherwise I would not be posting, but you are part of my journey. I am here for the world to see!
And I'm asking YOU TO SEE!
Rule one is to be patient. There will be many falls and bruises on the climb upward. There will be many detours that will lead you astray from the path you have chosen. Go slowly and study deeply, for it is easy to become sidetracked and fall back into the abyss of self lies. The fight for change can drain you quickly. Just when you think all is going smoothly, the bottom drops out again. However, if you are determined to find some relevance of peace in your life, you will make it. With perseverence all can succeed in finding inner peace.

Our methods are the tools we use to effect our escape to freedom. We cling to them but we are not attached to them. The methods are like a mountain climber's rope. They are the tools to get him to the top of the mountain safely. Therefore, he should take care of his rope and safeguard it, as his life will depend on it. But the rope is not his goal, rather it is the top of the mountain he wishes to conquer. The rope is but the means to do this.

Tai Chi Ch'uan, Shao-lin Kung Fu, Chan Meditation: these are our ropes. They hold us steady as we make our ascent to the top of the mountain. Our methods are something to hold on to, something to withstand the powerful winds of life that upset our equilibrium and blow us off the face of the mountain. Our methods anchor us to the face of the mountain. The methods safeguard us when the winds of change start blowing.

The term Kung Fu literally means to strive, to put forth great effort, to overcome. These are the ingredients for obtaining skill at something. The methods sharpen our skills to we reach the level of a Master. A master can be defined as one who has mastered the self, one who has freed the self from the great illusion. All this is possible with a method.



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Johan what you are talking about here is spitual awakenings.

You have spiritual awakenings not as a result of any particualar religion, but as a result of self-examination.

I recommend daily self-examination. Looking at your interactions with others and admiting where you have been wrong. That way you become aware of the defects in your character and can grow as a person.

To me that is what life is about. Spiritual awareness. I practice daily personal inventory so that I may become more aware of myself, and thus more aware of the world around me.

I am a Methodist like Slowwhand, but that is not the core of where my spirtuality is, I practice a twelve step program similar to AA. The twelve steps contain everything I need in order to attain my spitual awakening.

edit :
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oof: I'm a knight!

[This message has been edited by BorderPatrol (edited July 02, 2001).]
 
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