How is it that Buddhist monks are all about self-control and yet their leader is a fat man?

I got a book about taoism in my library and was like "wow, this is chill" So basically I just kinda float around in the river of life and yet I make my own path. It's weird, but Brehon, ya know what I mean. It's like I'm a successful deadbeat. but not really since like you said you can't explain the way to anyone, they just have to get it and yeah. whatever it makes sense to me and thats all that matters.

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ooh i'm a taoist!! sometimes well is it proper to say you are a taoist because to label yourself as one thing goes against the whole "taoist is everything and nothing"
weird.

Yay! and someone who knows something about it too! However, it just makes it easier to tell people about Taoism on the internet if you can refer to yourself. Though I shouldn't even be using the internet; excessive interfering, not natural and so on.

maybe in all my posts i should mention that i'm usually half-joking.

i know he's a skinny minnie, but i just enjoy the fat buddha.

the skinney ones a babe... even if he may have left his wifey-poo. whateverr

ahh maybe he never existed, you never know.

het. an ad below my post. that's cool.

ooh i'm a taoist!! sometimes well is it proper to say you are a taoist because to label yourself as one thing goes against the whole "taoist is everything and nothing"
weird.

again i'm usually sarcastic and joking with my posts sooo don't take it literally or you may get pissed. ^.^

A great reference about Buddha's life :
a book titled "Old Paths White Clouds" by Thich Nhat Hanh.The most complete one i have ever read. It tells not only what Prince Siddharta had done to achieve Enlightenment, but also what he did after that (the teachings, including the forming of Sangha - group of Bhikkhus). In that book we can find out that Buddha did not abandon his family.

I think that it is easy to find this book in the bookstore. Or simply click www.parallax.org.
For those interested in the teaching of Buddha, could read the other books from Thich Nhat Hanh too.

it's weird that people think that he's fat in my opinion. im a buddhist, and for some reason whenever i go to the stores where they sell the zne gardens they have the little versions of him that are fat, but in all the statues in the monasteries, he's thin. i'm as thorougly confused as to why it's like that as you are

you know, he's not fat. He practically starved himself to death by trying too much self control. He realised that not eating to fit in with his friends was stupid, and he began eating again. He grew healthy again and some people take being "healthy" to mean that he was fat. Simply, he's not.

Taoism is a fantastic religion. It is not particulaly doctrinated and it is more like Nicomachean virtue ethics. Their scripture is a collection of anceint Chinese works, and the founder of the religion Lao Tzu wrote the central book, the Tao Teh Ching (The Way and its Power). It is rather obsucre but a great book for life guidance.

next to nothing

How much do you know about Taoism?

well there are deities though you need to remeber that but the men who teach them and guide them are not Gods

That's why I love Buddhism. No deification.

Buddha is not a deity.

I quote from The Fundamentals of Buddhism by the Venerable Dr Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Mahanayaka Thera Aggamaha Pandita (A real book I got from a monestry in Hong Kong)

"The Buddha is not a God, nor a saviour who can save others. He explained that deliverance from suffering can only be gained by self-exertion and advised his disciples to be self-reliant."

Also there are different types of Buddha statue, depending on where the statue came from. The Laughing (or fat) Buddha came from China and displays that you don't need to starve yourself to gain enlgihtenment, which was what a lot of 'holy' men were doing at the time. The other thinner Buddhas are from India and Thailand, and they are more to the aesthetic ideals of India at the time.

I hope that was informative.

very cool monks major ass kickers

Buddhism is my favorite non-religion. So much better than all that junk about worshipping invisible people in the clouds.

Seriously, though, Buddhism is all about improving yourself through your own actions. No need to pay homage to a god.

I ought to listen to the podcast in my library called "Life of the Buddha." I really like Buddhism, yet I haven't listened to it yet. Hm. . .

yes the goal of all Buddhas, Boddhisvattas and other various enlightened ranks reincarnate on earth to aid the unenlightened they do this out of pure compassion for their fellow man(as in humans)

buddha has many forms and his mision is to lead those who are greedy and illusioned from rthe real path. he wants to give wisdom faith and the truth he is humble and wil help everyone who wants to be helped

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just an aside Jesus talked to the air a lot himself

They have pills for that today.

He didn't abandon his family as far as i know the history I heard was that he was a prince of a kingdom and snuck out the palace and saw poor people, sick people and dying people and began to teach so that he might help them(note: gave up all wealth/postion/property to do this) eventually dude meditates under fig tree and gains enlightenment

just an aside Jesus talked to the air a lot himself