11 Big Misconceptions About Buddhism

11 Big Misconceptions About Buddhism

Reincarnation- Reincarnation is often thought of in western society as the soul of an individual moving out of one body and into another. But the concept is more complex than this according to Buddhists. We are all consciousness. A flower or animal or human is a vessel that holds consciousness like a spool of film holds visuals and audio. Each spool is a living energy system however that has a sense of self awareness and it's own reality. But it is greatly cut off from the greater reality which can be likened to the history of the universe recorded on holographic computer.  If you think of it in terms of light, the colors we see are created when white light is slowed down to a specific vibratory frequency as it enters a prism. The human body is similar as it is is constructed of many energetic forms which bend light. It is a temporary and illusory sheath held in place by vibrating energy. Every structure from the cell in your little toe to your heart and brain has it's own vibratory signature that is recorded in the Akashic Field.  The Akashic Field is the fabric of the universe, a quantum computer, storing visual and audial information of its experiences. Each person (prism or vessel) has the ability to access those records. When we learn to consciously navigate the frequencies or waves via our own brain which is a transmitter and receiver of information we are able to access other experiences written into the Akashic Field.  This is why some people claim to have been someone from the past. They are reading memories of another physical existence from the perspective of that person. The living being's DNA is a combination of two living being's experiences but also of a particular past living being that was attracted to the current living being's consciousness. It is like planets colliding and or finding their own space around a sun. It is all about attraction and repulsion. At the moment of death the gross body sheath falls away from our consciousness field. This consciousness field which is basically an electromagnetic field, depending upon it's level of awareness will naturally gravitate toward another EM field. The memories and emotions of the Mental and Emotional Sheath remain intact because they are written into the Causal Body which is what we call the soul. Souls are part of a holographic reality program and one's causal body is a blueprint that dictates the next incarnation unless one is at a level of awareness where they are no longer attracted to a physical experience. In this case it is said they will move into higher states of being, less physical and more mental and emotional until the sentient being's consciousness finally leaves the causal plane all together.  Consciousness shapes an experience through attraction and repulsion and this is how "matter" arises. So the "you" that exists now is a hologram that can be deprogrammed by "you" if and when you have expanded your consciousness enough to choose to leave the matrix (programmed reality of birth and rebirth) behind.

Buddha is a god? True Buddhists do not regard Siddhartha Buddha or any Buddha or master as the God or a god although technically the word "god" does loosely come from the "good man" in ancient times. Buddha is revered as a great teacher with compassion and respect. He is not worshipped in the sense that he is placed in a status of perfection to which one should be submissive.

Buddhism is a religion? Buddhism is not a religion it is a teaching of practices designed to alleviate suffering for sentient beings. The main principles are the Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold Path. The Four Truths are that we are born into suffering. The causes of suffering is our craving and attachment to that which we do not possess. There is a way to end the suffering. And lastly the Eight Fold Path explains ways of living and being in the world to lessen suffering or and eventually end it all together.   Buddhism does not teach that we must be judged by a higher power. It is not designed to make people follow any deity to assure one's liberation. Liberation must be earned through awakening to the true nature of reality and discipline of the mind. And there is no demand for alliance under these teachings. We all have the free will to do as we like. The only this the Buddha was concerned with was ending suffering for all sentient beings not with controlling people. That is a major difference between the liberating practice of Buddhism and religions. When monks ask for food or money they see it as an opportunity for someone to give and to survive. Most religions amass money from their members for the purpose of perhaps helping others but much of the proceeds obviously go into the church whereas the church is least important and the body is the temple for the Buddhist. The body is not worshipped or ignored but seen as a home that should be kept clean and in alignment for optimal health. Balance and moderation are the Middle Path. "If the string is too tight it will snap. If the string is too lose it will not play".

Buddhists worship Buddha? There is a Buddhist saying "If you see the Buddha kill the Buddha." Non attachment is the basic teaching. There should be no mental attachment to the teacher or the teaching because when we set our mind to something that is challenged by someone else or hold fast to something that does not last like a person or an object it will be gone one day. This is the root cause of suffering. Nothing lasts. To worship anything implies a strong mental and emotional attachment to something. Buddha was revered as a great teacher not worshipped as a savior. When they prostrate to the statues it is not to worship Buddha but to humble one's self and stay focused on the practice.

Compassion- Compassion is feeling one with all that is knowing that harming another sentient being causes suffering. Many confuse compassion with trying to make someone happy by giving them everything they want. No one can ever have everything they want unless they are content to want what they have. And we cannot possibly ease the suffering of all beings with external things or kind words. We can only support others and teach them the best practices to end their own suffering. And though it is kind to comfort people sometimes compassion means teaching someone a painful lesson. So it can become a mental debate as to what is the right way or wrong way to show compassion. There is a story about a master that taught compassion to his students for many years. One day a cockroach ran across the floor and the master stepped on the roach and killed it. The students were horrified. They asked "Why did you do this? You have always taught us to be compassionate to all sentient beings". The master said "I am sending him to a better life. It must be terrible to be a cockroach". That is Zen.

Zen- Compassion is stressed as extremely important in zen because every action effects someone else and the world around us for better or worse. Actions have consequences. Judgment is a product of the mind. If someone throws a rock and hits you in the head, it hurts. That is zen. Why they threw the rock, what you think about them, whether you deserved it or not is all mental chatter that does not change the fact that a rock hit you in the head. The importance of understanding this is so that you are able to stop thoughts or automatic reactions that might lead to more suffering. It is what it is.

The Self- Buddha never spoke much about the existence of self. It seems "self" evident. But on the other hand the "self" is also illusion just as all things are. Some mistakenly stop at the pure "I AM" awareness as being the true self. But even that is illusion. Your hand is not your "self".  You head is not your "self". Your idea of self is your self. But an idea is not real unless you believe it is. This is the paradox of the self.

Reality-Buddhist monks say "If a rock hits you in the head, that is reality".  When you experience something with your senses and it has an effect on you, that is called a reality. When you are not aware that you are dreaming and it seems very real to you that is because it is your reality at that time. When you become lucid in the dream you know that it is just a dream but it is still also your reality. The fact that you are lying in bed asleep is also a reality. There are many realities, many truths and many illusions. Believing there is only one reality is delusion. I always say the only difference between a wise man and a schizophrenic is, the schizophrenic believes only one reality is real or doesn't know which is real while the wise man knows all realities are real.

Illusion-The Buddhist teaching tells us that the rock that hits you in the head is not solid, it just appears that way. That rock as a solid object that has power to hurt you is an illusion.  That doesn't mean the rock is not real or the pain is not real. It is just that it is not what it appears to be which is the very definition of "illusion". So what is it? The rock and all things on the quantum level is energy. Matter is constructed of atoms that have no mass yet they are the building "blocks" of all matter. How is that possible? The blocks are holograms. In fact the rock never actually touches your head because no two things ever really touch. The  true nature of reality is singularity. There are no TWO things. Everything is just energy vibrating at different rates and appearing to be separate things. Your brain perceives pain in the form of an alarm signal that something is out of alignment or threatening your vessel regardless of how dense it may or may not be. A gaseous fire hurts just the same as a fast moving rock or a bullet. Illusions as they may be they are all still experienced realities. It is one thing to know something is an illusion and quite another to believe in the illusion.  Believing the illusion that a magician actually sawed a woman into two halves is delusional.  Knowing it was an illusion is enlightenment. We all fluctuate between delusion and lucidity as we go through life because the world is full of illusions. Knowing we are usually being fooled and do not know as much as we think we do is enlightenment.

Meditation- It is probably easier to explain what meditation is not. It is not prayer (asking for something from a higher power), communicating with demons or angels, stopping thoughts or about levitating. Meditation plain and simple is about being present in the silence and stillness of the the vortex of life. It is a waste of energy to try to stop thoughts because they are just the perception of information as it flies into our realm of consciousness. Thoughts are not bad or good they are just like butterflies buzzing all around you. You can fall in love with them, let them annoy you and control your emotions and actions or not. It is up to you. And that is why meditation is a great practice. Thoughts constantly flutter around us and we get to pick which ones we want to believe or Be Live. The practice is to not attach to the thoughts as the arise and fall but to just be, without grasping at concepts and judgements or addictions to ideas and plans. It is also possible to access higher states of awareness and actually activate dormant abilities. But in Buddhism this is not important. It is a distraction from the real practice which is being at peace regardless of the infinite and eternal changes. Contacting other entities, remote viewing, levitation are all possible according to Buddhist teachings but why would anyone pursue levitation when they have not first learned how to master their mind enough to not scream at their spouse or eat that extra donut? We all need to meditate because we are all struggling. No one is perfect.

Egolessness- Egolessness is commonly mistaken for destroying the ego. As long as you are alive (even after death to an extent) you have an ego because the ego is the sense of self and if you are to remain alive in your body you will need your ego to make important decisions. Egolessness means knowing that the ego is also illusion. We are able to access a higher awareness that see's the ego for what it is, from some other place. When you are able to observe your ego self as an illusion that arises from nothingness you are experiencing egolessness. Some call this the void. It can be scary to find yourself at this state of awareness if you are still influenced by ego at the same time. It is like a seesaw. We go back and forth between I AM and I am alone, I am one with all that is, I am nothing, I am all powerful, I am emptiness. Enlightenment is being content with your unstable reality as you ride the waves of eternity in lucid awareness that you are and you are not at the same time an observer in the eternal sea of potential.