I often feel like converting from Christianity to Buddhism, but yet I want to join the Marines. If I'm a Buddhist, does the religion have anything against Buddhists being in the military? I mean the Chinese and Japanese military are made up of a majority of Buddhists. It's so confusing to me... I just want to find something that works for me without being persecuted and have me all worried about the afterlife. And my dad and step-mom are devote Chrisitians, going to church every sunday and all, and I'm worried about what they might think about me converting and all seeing as how I was raised Christian.

Also if I do convert... on holidays... when we pray, is the universal god that the buddhists have the same god as the Christians have?

path

the first question i have is

Why do you want to convert?

If this is your belief then why worry what others think.

You pray to the god of your choice, not to a standard god. Even among christians people view god differently.

I personally am Wiccan and so we belive that everyone should be able to pray to whatever god they want. there are many paths to take and no one should be able to tell you what path you should take. That my friend is up to you

Fr_Chuck

yes, you want to convert to a religion you know nothing about, guess you think thier outfits are cool.

You study thier religion, you go to thier worship groups and learn, Then you decide if you are willing to accept thier teachings.

Now you can just reject Christianity ( does not mean it is not true just you are rejecting it of course) but you are not being forced to accept any religion.

Heck there is a couple of christian ones ( and personally I use that term lightly) that beleive everyone is saved, no matter what you do you are going to heaven anyway.

yingandyangr1

Fr_Chuck: No I do not want to convert because I think their outfits are cool. I want to convert because I don't feel as happy with Christianity (not to offend you or anything) like I do with Buddhism. Buddhism summed up is about being happy and showing constant kindness to others and only needing to fight if necessary and to eliminate negative energy. And how do you know I don't know anything about it, I have a book about it that I read. Buddhism starts with the Four Noble Truths:

1.) Life Means Suffering
2.) The Origin Suffering is attachment
3.) The cessation of suffering is attainable
4.) The Path of cessation is suffering

Also following the eightfold path

. Right View Wisdom
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech Ethical Conduct
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort Mental Development
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration

yingandyangr1

I am a Buddhist. And I also want to join the Marines. Buddhists fight to defend others when necessary and thats what the military does. There are Buddhists in the military right? I mean look at the Chinese and Japanese militaries, I'm sure a lot of them are Buddhist. I know there are Buddhist in their police forces.

jakester

yingandyangr1 -

You said "Buddhists fight to defend others when necessary." I guess the question I have is what do you personally value in terms of defending others and defending the interests of your country. It's a statement of fact when you say people of Buddhist faith fight to defend others but it's another thing entirely to say I, yinandyangr1, believe that I would be willing defend another person. Do you see what I'm saying?

Personalize this decision to join the Marines a little more in terms of the philosophical reasoning of your decision.

It's good you recognize that being a Marine can require a person to make that ultimate sacrifice because that's the most extreme form of defending others.

Semper Fi.

yingandyangr1

Yes I understand what you are saying. It is part of my faith to defend others when necessary because it is a kind act, and being a Buddhist is a lot about doing kind acts for others , and being selfless to build up good karma. I appreciate your help jakester. Thank You, and Semper Fi.... Always Faithful.

Fr_Chuck

Please do not start several threads on the exact same subject. Your threads and posts have been merged

cozyk

yingandyangr1

I completely agree with you and couldn't agree with you more cozyk. I don't agree with some aspects of Christianity. I believe Jesus existed and all but I don't take him as my God. If your all for him thats cool, but it's just not for me. Buddhism makes me see things more clearly throughout the world and enables me to live more peacefully, Christianity just doesn't do that for me. My true opinion is that Chrisitianity was set up in a way to put people in fear (I don't mean to offend any Christians) like for example, I don't believe that through Jesus is the only way for all human beings to be saved and if I don't accept him as my savior I'm going to hell. First of all Buddhists don't believe in the Chrisitian Heaven and Hell, we believe in 33 Heavens and 33 Hells. To reach a certain Heaven all depends on how much good karma we build up over our lifetime and we reach a certain level depending on how good of a Buddhist we are. Once our good karma depletes in Buddhist heaven, we are then reincarnated into a new body, a new life, all that stuff. We won't know our race, the language we speak, the color of our skin, the family we are raised in.... we won't know any of that until we are born and raised in that life. However, if you just claim to be a Buddhist and live a life of evil and build up bad karma then you will go to a certain level of Buddhist hell with a certain kind of eternal torture.


Also, what about Muslims and Hindus and Wiccans? People think Wicca is a satanic religion but it's not. Like us Buddhists, Wiccans, Pagans, and Hindus believe in reincarnation... not sure if they believe in a heaven or hell, or immediate reincarnation after death. It's an evolved Pagan religion that basically adopted the belief of a universal god. I think Christianity attacks Paganism and Wicca because they wanted everyone to worship their God and only their God, and if they didn't they would kill them. I don't think thats right. I have a friend who is Wiccan along with his mother, and he used to live in Bar Harbor, Maine. He told me that when he lived down there, a kid asked him what his religion was. The asker was a Catholic (not singling out Catholics but just bringing out two different religion's points of view) and my friend said "I'm a Wiccan" and the asker said "Are you really a satanist?" Thats a solid example of ignorance. The kid didn't know anything about Wicca and he assumed it was a satanic religion. People worldwide should have the right of religious freedom, to be able to worship any God they want to without having the gut feeling of fear and persecution placed into them and their lives.

I have friends and are aquaintances with people who are Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, and Wiccan and they all beleive in God, multiple deities, or both (referring to Wicca). God accepts us for us and sure Jesus IS the son of god, but aren't we all the sons of god? I asked one of my friends why he worships just the Pagan gods and godesses and not his Pagan deities and the universal God. He said "Because the Pagan deities are older", and thats true. Try predating Christianity by 28,000 years. If Jesus was the only messiah put on this earth, then why did God send Mohammed for the Muslims, Mosis for the Jews, and Buddha for the Buddhists and not just Jesus for the whole world? If God just wanted himself and Jesus to be worshipped, then why does he allow the world to be made up of so many different religions and creeds? The way I see it, God sent different messiahs for different people who chose to live their life a different way than others. I chose God and Buddha, and whether you like it or not, thats your opinion, but please don't attack or persecute us or anyone from a non-christian religion, especially out of ignorance. As a Buddhist it is my job to educate others in what I know. I know I may sound non-buddhist to you at this moment but again, an ignorant thought. Just because Buddhists are said to always be polite (which I am), and calm and stay out of the way of things doesn't mean we can't stand up for out beleifs and the same goes for you too, everyone should be able to defend their beliefs whether agreed or disagreed with. But that doesn't mean we can't explain our beliefs to you in the more self-common way we know how. I am a Buddhist and I appreciate God and his blessings, and the teachings of Buddha.

Note: Jesus is said to be the only messiah because he was ressurected from the dead and thought to be the only true God. Buddha died and the spirit of Buddha was reincarnated in another Buddhist human being, today what is known as the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzyn Gyatso.