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Autism and Buddhism

Clintos

Well-Known Member
I am thinking of studying buddhism, is buddhism compatible with autism?

Does anyone know about buddhism and whether it's a good idea, I am thinking of switching from Christianity to become a buddhist or atheist because some people in the christian faith think that people with autism are inferior and need to be healed instead of accepted and accommodated.
 
I'm not a follower of the religion so I can't justify how positive it is - adding to the fact that every Aspie/Autistic is different.

My guess is it's up to you to try it out for a while and see how you feel after a set amount of time.
There probably are plenty of Autistics who are Buddhists - some of whom use this website - in the same way there are Autistics who are Christian, Atheist, Muslim, Wiccan, etc.

Try checking out this thread: The Religion Thread
 
I feel a little more comfortable that buddhist do not necessarily worship an idol but that they do show respect to a image etc of a person meditating.

When I was younger my father was an atheist and mother a christian later on in her life, this confused me, so I searched for a meaning.

I use to leaned towards christianity but never fully embraced it due to a lot of contradictions in the bible and the wars that are done in the name of christianity.

I am out to look for a book on buddhism now. I do believe in a higher power and just do not know who/what that is nor do I believe the world is as old as the scientist say. = billions of years old, All I know is something created something, in which created everything. What that is is beyond me.

A Basic Buddhism Guide: 5 Minute Introduction
 
Those so called Christians who think others are inferior and need healed should take a long hard look in the mirror and reassess the true meaning of the faith they are not keeping.
 
That's what I was thinking. I am going to put my bible in the closet for 1 year and study buddhism and if I do not have positive things happening for me then I will return to it. I just hope I don't get hit by a car in the meantime lol which imo jesus will forgive me, and understand that I am confused and only tried to better myself for the well being of myself and others.

My mother is a little pissed, and thinks it's a cult, but I explained to her that it is not and that it is something that a person can study on there own. Like it or leave it. no harm done.
 
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That's what I was thinking. I am going to put my bible in the closet for 1 year and study buddhism and if I do not have positive things happening for me then I will return to it. I just hope I don't get hit by a car in the meantime lol which imo jesus will forgive me, and understand that I am confused and only tried to better myself for the well being of myself and others.

My mother is a little pissed, and thinks it's a cult, bu,t I explained to her that it is not and that it is something that a person can study on there own. Like it or live it. no harm done

Read the Buddha Pill first. I explored Buddhism and had terrible reaction to meditation. Be very careful. There are people who go psychotic. One woman, a "normal" yoga teacher had a psychotic break and it took her almost a decade to recover.

I am not sure if I went psychotic, but if your neurology is off, be careful. If you KNOW that, it may not happen. I am just saying if it starts to feel weird, you might not want to continue.

By the way, all Buddhism is not the same. There are Buddhist who do a lot of fighting, too. Western/American Buddhism is not really Buddhist at all.

It depends on if you are into Zen or get into the ancient texts. There are many forms of Buddhism and there are just as many confusions and complexities as any other religion.

Thich Nhat Hanh said that many who go into Buddhism from other religions end up right back to the religion of their ancestors, and that is perfectly fine as real Buddhists are not saying their way is the only way.

Pray about it as you are doing it. Ask God to lead you and protect you and guide you to where he wants you to be.
 
Those so called Christians who think others are inferior and need healed should take a long hard look in the mirror and reassess the true meaning of the faith they are not keeping.

You see I believe I need no healing, my autism is high functioning I do not have those outburst that others do. I am slow/do not show empathy for example and need to be born again literally with the knowledge I have now. I was already baptized in jesus name.
 
I see no "cosmic repercussions" in anyone who chooses to explore their own spirituality. Wherever it may lead.
 
Read the Buddha Pill first. I explored Buddhism and had terrible reaction to meditation. Be very careful. There are people who go psychotic. One woman, a "normal" yoga teacher had a psychotic break and it took her almost a decade to recover.

I am not sure if I went psychotic, but if your neurology is off, be careful. If you KNOW that, it may not happen. I am just saying if it starts to feel weird, you might not want to continue.

By the way, all Buddhism is not the same. There are Buddhist who do a lot of fighting, too. Western/American Buddhism is not really Buddhist at all.

It depends on if you are into Zen or get into the ancient texts. There are many forms of Buddhism and there are just as many confusions and complexities as any other religion.

Thich Nhat Hanh said that many who go into Buddhism from other religions end up right back to the religion of their ancestors, and that is perfectly fine as real Buddhists are not saying their way is the only way.

Pray about it as you are doing it. Ask God to lead you and protect you and guide you to where he wants you to be.

Thanks I will pray about it. Because I do have psychosis. This is the video in which when I went to sleep after watching it, it seemed like it opened my eyes to the meaning of life somewhat:

 
I see no "cosmic repercussions" in anyone who chooses to explore their own spirituality. Wherever it may lead.

Thanks, I believe as long as you are not killing anyone over religion, then it should be fine to investigate whether it is your cup of tea
 
Despite I'm an atheist, I did consider Buddhism interesting when I study world religion in high school. But maybe the other reason me considering it interesting is I always had interest in the Asian culture.
 
The asian culture is old and the asian persuasion in strong. It's like what came first the chicken or the egg?
 
I was raised christian, but my dad was of no belief, though he just kept out of it and my mom, though she expected us to attend church, did not pressure after a certain age. The lessons were important not the belief.

Eventually I explored Buddhist meditation and found that the mindful meditation helped me a great deal in living better, feeling more together and a part of this life on earth.

Was it spiritual? I'm not sure, it was lessons in life, taught by silence, quieting the mind to allow peace and truth to percolate through my thoughts, experiences, memories.

I will say it has strengthened my weaknesses, gave me broader perspective to my strengths, and a deeper understanding of myself and others.

It has made me a better person without causing me to renounce anything, or deny the value of other paths. To me, it is entirely compatible with other beliefs, or no belief at all.
 
I am thinking of studying buddhism, is buddhism compatible with autism?

I think it's worth taking time to think about why you're interested.

Buddhism is not really a religion, nor is it a philosophy.

It's a path to enlightenment, self discovery and the realisation that the nature of reality is non-dual (there is not me in my head, and all that stuff out there (dualism), there is just one thing manifesting as many). Nothing in all of that relies on belief, only your own experience (that's the part that attracted me).

The Buddha once said that only your own experience can be trusted, even if it contradicts what he himself taught.

Buddha simply means "awakened one". Some one who has become fully awake and aware of their self and their true nature.

If you want to get into the tradition and practice go for it - I'd choose Zen in that case.

If you're after enlightenment there are much shorter paths.

I got into it because I was after enlightenment, and while it's great it is mired in tradition and spiritual practice, and I moved on quickly.


You can get to the same place with Advaita Vedanta, Self Enquiry, Direct Path Enlightenment, and many other ways.

It's probably true that all religions lead to the same thing, and most religions are built around people who woke up, and tried to help others wake up.

Instead people worshipped them!


Regarding meditation; too many people try to hard.

"The essence of meditation is simply to be in the present, neither pushing anything away, nor pulling anything towards you" Adyashanti (paraphrased)

I meditate while washing the dishes, and tidying up.
 
I am thinking of studying buddhism, is buddhism compatible with autism?

Does anyone know about buddhism and whether it's a good idea, I am thinking of switching from Christianity to become a buddhist or atheist because some people in the christian faith think that people with autism are inferior and need to be healed instead of accepted and accommodated.
I am an atheist when it comes to the existance of a literal gaseous vertebrae in the sky. And I also feel with my feeling of repulsion for social situations and with organized religion being built upon a close knit mindset.....that my choice to reject a belief in God was my only option. And my feeling of choice nothing but an illusion.
 
I say go for it, study whatever you want to. I was raised in ministry in a Christian cult, so when I finally stopped going along with my family, I found I needed something to take its place. While there are certain tenets of the Christian faith I will never give up, my bloodline is entirely Jewish on my Dad's side. I started studying the family religion and went more that route. However, I have always been obsessed with martial arts and part of studying those is also studying Buddhism. My therapist is Buddhist and uses mindful meditation as part of his therapeutic modality. I like it. So, I'm a Messianic Jew (barely practicing) who studies martial arts and follows Bushido (which is very strongly influenced by Zen Buddhism).

Its all about finding a set of beliefs that work for you. If one specific system doesn't quite fit, its perfectly acceptable to take bits and pieces of practices and beliefs that resonate with you and adopt those. My best friend started out Mennonite, went Pentecostal Christian, then Messianic Jew, then switched to Traditional Jew, is currently studying Hindu beliefs and practices, while also being an honest-to-God Jedi. She even is authorized in my state to officiate weddings, and has done so dressed as a Starfleet Captain (from Star Trek)!

Good luck with your studies!
 
You can be a Buddhist and still follow monotheism. The two are not mutually exclusive. Central to beginning education into Buddhism is learning meditation. You kind of need to focus on it very intently at first as it is very difficult to begin. I used books but I'm sure youtube is full of instructional videos. The concept of void is central to both the philosophy and meditative practices. Once you gain some foothold on meditating you can actually slow your heart and breathing rate. There have also been studies where they put monks in an brain imaging machine (MRI?) and are able to see how meditation changes brain waves. So to me it's more of a philosophy than a religion.
 
Why?

Not looking to start and argument, just curious as to why you don't believe the scientists.

Because there are no such thing as a time machine to back up the scientists claims to the worlds age. I know the world is old, maybe 10 000 years, but billions I do not think so, and this is only my opinion. I would like to know for sure thou. Plus scientists are human and can make mistakes. Evolution can happen so fast imo too, I do not know if I believe in evolution, but I do believe in micro evolution or adaptation.
 
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You can be a Buddhist and still follow monotheism. The two are not mutually exclusive. Central to beginning education into Buddhism is learning meditation. You kind of need to focus on it very intently at first as it is very difficult to begin. I used books but I'm sure youtube is full of instructional videos. The concept of void is central to both the philosophy and meditative practices. Once you gain some foothold on meditating you can actually slow your heart and breathing rate. There have also been studies where they put monks in an brain imaging machine (MRI?) and are able to see how meditation changes brain waves. So to me it's more of a philosophy than a religion.

Yes, I am a believer in slowing down ones heart rate through breathing and meditation. I am also a believer in a person being able to think and be what he thinks. Like with food, where they say you are what you eat, I believe we are what we think. And, that thinking can change a person health as well.
 

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