Confession

[sky dancer]

Buddhism is the only religion that has teachings on emptiness and the ultimate nature of 'how things truly are'. It is within these teachings and their application in practice, that all karma is purified, and buddha nature is realized.

Buddha nature is like the diamond concealed in rock. The diamond has qualities of clarity and the ability to reflect rainbow light. No matter how obscured the jewel encased in rock, the diamond is unharmed.

All of us sentient beings have this buddha nature. Through confession and other practices, this essential purity is revealed to us. This purity was inherently true and present from the very beginning, but obscured and hidden from us.

 

[Truthmatters]

Is it good for the soul? What are your ideas of its value?

If you are a theist, who do you confess to, and is it private or public?

What about atheists? Any value to confession?

I've often thought one of the problems with our justice system is that it does not allow people to clear up problems with each other by making non-admission of wrong doing a legal strategy.

What role, (if any) does confession play in your life?

What I do ( I dont believe in a supreme being) is try to confess to myself every time I think. I try to at every momment of my life see my faults and correct them. Its called living with reality. I am not perfect and never will be. It does not stop me from trying to face all the truths of life even my own failings.

 

[Care4all]

Buddhism is the only religion that has teachings on emptiness and the ultimate nature of 'how things truly are'. It is within these teachings and their application in practice, that all karma is purified, and buddha nature is realized.

Buddha nature is like the diamond concealed in rock. The diamond has qualities of clarity and the ability to reflect rainbow light. No matter how obscured the jewel encased in rock, the diamond is unharmed.

All of us sentient beings have this buddha nature. Through confession and other practices, this essential purity is revealed to us. This purity was inherently true and present from the very beginning, but obscured and hidden from us.

It seems like a very JUST religion...

And on earth, even as Christians, we believe that you ''reap what you sow''...
very similar to Karma imo.... I suppose the difference is that we believe in a thereafter.... in an additional realm...Heaven... and we believe, that no matter what, we will fail ourselves in the earthly realm, from time to time...we do not believe that we can be perfect....we believe we can try to be, and thru Christ, we can be in the next realm....at least, in my opinion.

 

[PoliticalChic]

If you mean formal, religious confession a la the Catholic Church, can't say I've ever seen the point, not being a Catholic myself. I do my religious confessing straight to God.

In terms of confessing wrongs done to other human beings, I think there's a lot of value to be found in going to the wronged party and confessing and making amends. It can clear the air and allow both parties to move forward from that point. I will say, however, that if the only benefit in confessing is to make YOU feel better, and will do nothing to improve the life of the other person, it's maybe worthwhile to consider keeping your yap shut about it.

Yes, I make my confessions straight to God as well, if I have any.

But, what about affairs? You think those should be divulged to the person who you cheated on? I'm speaking hypothetically. I know no one this board would do such a thing.

 

[sky dancer]

What I do ( I dont believe in a supreme being) is try to confess to myself every time I think. I try to at every momment of my life see my faults and correct them. Its called living with reality. I am not perfect and never will be. It does not stop me from trying to face all the truths of life even my own failings.

That approach is quite similar to Buddhism. We do a daily confession.

 

[Care4all]

Yes, I make my confessions straight to God as well, if I have any.

But, what about affairs? You think those should be divulged to the person who you cheated on? I'm speaking hypothetically. I know no one this board would do such a thing.

If the temptation is still there, and true repentance is not felt or achievable, but you know you have a duty or love for your wife or husband that is worth fighting for, then I would confess to such partner, as a last ditch effort to save the relationship.

If the temptation was a fluke, something you were very sorry for, and true repentance easily had with no diffulculty on your own part, then maybe it would be a good idea to live your life on the upright, from here on out, and not hurt and tell your loved one, what a complete schmuck you have been...until maybe 10 years from now or after they have messed up on something major too! hahahahahahahahaha!

I dunno....I'm just rambling on my scrambling thoughts....of your question.

Care

 

[Truthmatters]

That approach is quite similar to Buddhism. We do a daily confession.

I have always considered myself a kind of natural Budhist

 

[sky dancer]

It seems like a very JUST religion...

And on earth, even as Christians, we believe that you ''reap what you sow''...
very similar to Karma imo.... I suppose the difference is that we believe in a thereafter.... in an additional realm...Heaven... and we believe, that no matter what, we will fail ourselves in the earthly realm, from time to time...we do not believe that we can be perfect....we believe we can try to be, and thru Christ, we can be in the next realm....at least, in my opinion.

Care I read back my post and it sounded a bit like my Buddha's bigger than YOUR Christ.

I didn't mean to imply that. Each path has it's unique characterisitcs--Christianity is a completely valid path--especially when it brings forth Christ-like qualities.

Buddhists do believe in life after death. We speak of six realms--heaven realms are one of them, but NOT what where we aspire to be reborn.

One difference is that we don't believe in the ego and personality as permanent. We think consciousness is what moves from life to life and takes with it, karma, and habits.

The idea is if you want to know what your next life will be, look at what you're doing in this one.

 

[sky dancer]

Yes, I make my confessions straight to God as well, if I have any.

But, what about affairs? You think those should be divulged to the person who you cheated on? I'm speaking hypothetically. I know no one this board would do such a thing.

That depends on whether it would be helpful or harmful. The point is to clean up your act one way or another, isn't it?

Of course, nobody here would EVER do anything like this. (or at least, not admit it)

 

[Care4all]

Care I read back my post and it sounded a bit like my Buddha's bigger than YOUR Christ.

I didn't mean to imply that. Each path has it's unique characterisitcs--Christianity is a completely valid path--especially when it brings forth Christ-like qualities.

Buddhists do believe in life after death. We speak of six realms--heaven realms are one of them, but NOT what where we aspire to be reborn.

One difference is that we don't believe in the ego and personality as permanent. We think consciousness is what moves from life to life and takes with it, karma, and habits.

The idea is if you want to know what your next life will be, look at what you're doing in this one.

NOOOOOO, I did not take your post that way!!!!

seems very Just imo....

and the same underlying theme is within Christianity as well....

Care

 

[PoliticalChic]

That depends on whether it would be helpful or harmful. The point is to clean up your act one way or another, isn't it?

Of course, nobody here would EVER do anything like this. (or at least, not admit it)

I can't imagine divulging an affair would be helpful in anyway.

 

[sky dancer]

I can't imagine divulging an affair would be helpful in anyway.

No. I don't imagine it would be. But when someone is caught red handed, they best fess up and make amends.

I think sometimes people confess to their mates out of selfishness, wanting to relieve their own guilt.

Buddhists are big on motivation. What's the motivation for confessing the misdeed to another?

Best motivation is to benefit self AND others. Best motivation is kindness and compassion.

 

[Paulie]

You must be a former Catholic.

That's a misuse of confession, it's not supposed to be like that. IN the RCC, I think that concept is a holdover from the time when priests sold redemption to complete scoundrels for a large fee.

The idea of confession in Buddhism is to acknowledge the wrong, take responsibility for it, regret it, pledge to not repeat it and then bring in some light to the situation.

I've never followed any specific religion. For a while I considered myself a christian, but as I got older and more mature I questioned it. Now, I really don't entertain religion as something important in my life. I'm more of an agnostic I guess. How I live my life doesn't need to depend on pleasing a higher power. If when I die, I've made a positive impact on someone else's life along the way, I'm satisfied with that.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Confession is perfect. You can be a piece of shit all week, and atone on Sunday.

That way, you can still get into heaven.

Except that repentance requires the sincere intention and effort not to repeat the sin. It doesn't count otherwise.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I think confession was dreamed up by priests so they could live vicariously through their parishioners.

It is the original version of the voyeur web site.

Historical rumor has it that Catholic confession was adopted from a pagan religion that used it to blackmail important people and control them.

 

[Cecilie1200]

We have confession in Buddhism. It's part of a purification practice. We call the practice the four opponent powers.

1. We acknowledge our misdeeds and we confess them to our own wisdom nature, that has been obscured through our mistakes and harmful actions.
2. Next we sincerely regret what we have done. We reflect on the disadvantages of continuing our mistakes.
3. We make a vow or pledge to not repeat the action, spoken words or thoughts.
4. We bring in the light until we feel completely pure again.

Kinda sounds like AA. Which just goes to show you that pretty much any program aimed at making you a better person has recognized the value of owning up to your mistakes.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Yes, I make my confessions straight to God as well, if I have any.

But, what about affairs? You think those should be divulged to the person who you cheated on? I'm speaking hypothetically. I know no one this board would do such a thing.

That would be one of those things where you really have to weigh whether you're doing it for THEIR benefit, or your own. If there's a good chance they're going to find out, or it's somehow going to come back to hurt them - like someone got pregnant, or got VD, or something - then you have to. But I think it's possible to have occasions when the other person doesn't need to have their whole life brought down around them that way, simply because it'll make your conscience feel better.

On the other hand, I have an open marriage and keep no secrets from my husband, ever, precisely so that such occasions never come up at all. It requires that we both put a little more thought into what we do BEFORE we do it, but that's all to the good.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I can't imagine divulging an affair would be helpful in anyway.

It can be. Say a man cheats on his wife, and his lover gets pregnant. Wifey's gonna have to know. What if he gets a sexually transmitted disease? Again, she needs to know. If there's a good chance she's going to find out anyway, then he's better off telling her himself, and she's better off hearing it from him.

 

[Paulie]

Except that repentance requires the sincere intention and effort not to repeat the sin. It doesn't count otherwise.

Tell that to the millions of others who apparently don't get it.

 

[chloe]

What I do ( I dont believe in a supreme being) is try to confess to myself every time I think. I try to at every momment of my life see my faults and correct them. Its called living with reality. I am not perfect and never will be. It does not stop me from trying to face all the truths of life even my own failings.

cool