Posted on 11/27/2007 10:46:44 PM PST by prisoner6
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau
HARRISBURG -- A Buddhist leader, making a first-ever appearance before the state Senate yesterday, said he's OK with opening legislative sessions with a prayer as long as leaders of all faiths get a chance to speak and they don't try to proselytize.
Anthony Stultz of Harrisburg, who for 20 years has been a Buddhist "sensei," meaning "venerable priest or teacher," opened the Senate session yesterday with a brief prayer, the first time an official of that faith has been asked to do so. He is the leader of the Blue Mountain Lotus Society in Harrisburg.
The Senate is trying to show it doesn't limit the prayers to just Christian ministers or Jewish rabbis...
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
Can't wait for the Wiccan opening...
prisoner6
shakes head.
Who does a Buddhist pray to?
Depends on the kind of Buddhist. Some of them believe in specific deities, others don’t, and some believe in something sort of like God, but impersonal. So, he could have been praying to some god or goddess, to Buddha, or maybe just the universe/Great Mind (or something like that). In any case almost certainly not a Christian prayer or a prayer to the God of Abraham by any stretch.
Ohm.
Must take exception to your post.
Ohm.
An ohm is a resistance unit aka Ohms Law R=E/I..I’m an electrician doncha know!!
To answer that question for yourself, you have to know something about the historical development of Buddhism.
The essence of individual Buddhist practice is meditation, not prayer. Lets say that prayer is talking to God but meditation is just resting the mind in peace. In this sense , it is possible to be a Christian, and a meditator both.
The Buddha simply taught people how to rest their minds in peace, and to bring that into their daily life situation.He also taught the four noble truths which cover the basic elements of human existence. They are simple and straight forward, dedicated to achieving motivation for the cessation of suffering in oneself and in others.
"May all beings be free from suffering and the origin of suffering," is one saying that is common to most Buddhist lineages.
For those interested in looking further, there are many sites on the web about Buddhism, and one which is very informative and also very American in its community is this one:
http://www.shambhala.org/about_shambhala.php
Visit and have fun.
“Who does a Buddhist pray to?”
Found this on line, it’s rather interesting.
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/b_faqs.htm
Good. The Buddhist priest can remind the thieving secular reprobates that there’s karma (judgement) and it can be a bitch.
What I like about this aspect of buddhism is that payback can smash you in this life, not waiting until after you leave this world.
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