Buddhism in the Ensign

[mom3]

I've been very fascinated with Buddhism and it's principles and today in searching some information on it I ran across an Ensign article from 1972 on it. The article is long and I don't know what I think of the author's conclusion but the fact that an article that is so detailed about another religion/philosphy ever appeared in the Ensign was a total shock to me. If you want to glance at it feel free, it is long so if you don't finish it, I totally understand.

http://www.lds.org/ensign/1972/06/buddhism

[mackay11]

Cool, thanks

[Life_Journey_of_Matt]

This was truly a fascinating read. I have been on an Eckhart Tolle kick lately, and he draws heavily from these Eastern traditions.

Here are a couple of LDS parallels that jumped out at me most forcefully.

Buddhism teaches that in mortality men run the ever-present risk of neglecting the inner man, the higher spiritual forces of life. In his struggle for existence man seeks the satisfaction of his physical needs and his mind is engrossed in material things. He faces the hazard of spiritual atrophy, through involvement in the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of its riches. Buddhists believe that the only antidote is withdrawal, repairing to secret chambers and quiet places of worship where reverence for the eternal can be encouraged.

Putting off the natural man? Search, ponder and pray?

In Buddhism, all reality is one. The starting point is a belief in the ultimate nonexistence of separate personalities, and the ultimate goal is negation of ego. The Buddhist approach follows the assertion of Gotama, “all is without a self,” which is basic to the Buddhist explanation of man’s predicament.

Atonement, or at-one-ment? Surrendering to the will of God?

Thanks so much for sharing, mom3!

[SamBee]

My take is that Buddhism is wisdom mingled with the misguided philosophies of men. It has great insight, mixed sometimes with occultic and sinister practises. It provides great social wisdom, combined sometimes with feudalism. It matches the greatest intellectuals, and yet also incorporates quaint folk traditions.

Buddhism in the west, is of course, little like the Asian version.

Atonement, or at-one-ment? Surrendering to the will of God?

No quite different. One's pantheism, and the other is uniting yourself with the will of God.

Putting off the natural man? Search, ponder and pray?

Buddhism talks a lot about what we'd think of as the natural man. You're right on here.

[conflicted testimony]

There is a series of articles in the ensign from that time period covering a few of the different beliefs. I found a lot of the articles from back then really informative, or a launching point for further investigation (eg the Palestinian conflict).

I must get back to them .... I gave up when the Gospel library kept on being upgraded and everytime I did that, it deleted all my bookmarks. Very frustrating!

[Life_Journey_of_Matt]

Atonement, or at-one-ment? Surrendering to the will of God?

No quite different. One's pantheism, and the other is uniting yourself with the will of God.

You don't have to take it to complete pantheism. Maybe God does have some attributes that are more easily explained from a pantheistic viewpoint vs. an anthropomorphic viewpoint. Have you ever considered where the "Light of Christ" might come from? Without or within? Some would say it emanates from everything.

[Curt Sunshine]

I've said often that if I wasn't Christian, I would be Buddhist. If I left the LDS Church at any point, I would be non-denominational and get more into Buddhism.

[cwald]

My take is that Buddhism is wisdom mingled with the misguided philosophies of men. It has great insight, mixed sometimes with occultic and sinister practises. It provides great social wisdom, combined sometimes with feudalism. It matches the greatest intellectuals, and yet also incorporates quaint folk traditions...

-sigh-

Sorry Ray, but you know what is coming....

That sounds a lot like another religion that gets talked about on this forum.


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[cwald]

For the record Matt, I'm a Pantheist, and proud of it.

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[Curt Sunshine]

Yeah, cwald, I saw that one coming.