hell, most likely

is the pure form of buddhism temple actually located in brickfields? i just like to ask is it ok to refer buddha as lord? and is it ok for a buddhist center start doing singing session like in Church where teenagers singing with the christian tune in it and using the word lord. Are this organization ok or not in the perspective of buddhism fellowers?

Oic! how bout the one in subang jaya and kota kemuning? are they from theravada school? than i noticed the one in subang very much on english educated people as compare to kota kemuning. there's a different kind of community . the one in subang sing buddhist hymm ?? sound more like a christian hymm to me not like those buddhism song leh ... 

never attended before any talks. guess u clarify some of my observation so it has to do with language community that operates differently, subang jaya folks were mostly english and the one in kota kemuning has kuan yin deity, i believe this one is chinese buddhism and not theravada ?

Unless I interpret things wrongly, I can never fathom why Buddhists ITT believes in deities. I personally think the original texts are not to be taken "seriously" and they serve as a literal meaning of the state of mind.

This is why taoism is often misunderstood. I can't be too sure with buddhism, can someone familiar with buddhism correct me if i'm wrong?

Now, when you actually practice Buddhism, what do you strive for? Do you worship the deities? What is your ultimate goal? I interpret the deities as the state of mind. They were suppose to be taken literally.

EDIT: I think it is best for me to explain a bit of my background so it is easier for you to answer my questions. I have a background in Qi Gong. (not the qi gong you see on TV, TV is all BS) The body and the mind is cultivated and practiced as one. You must practice both of these without fail. Now in Buddhism, it is vastly different. Unless you're from Shao Lin, the only part you train is your mind. This is why many great masters simply "die". The concept of Buddhism during practice is that the body is simply an obstacle.  Based on my understanding of buddhism and qi gong, they are going for the same goal when it comes to the state of mind. Do typical buddhists go for this? Is this your ultimate goal? Or do you simply study what is available in buddhism? Since buddha's actual words and teachings were not directly from himself, from our point of view (in qi gong), the deities and realms are meant to be taken literally. They represent the state of mind. If you're wondering, I do actually think the later followers were not exactly right when it comes to interpreting what buddha really meant about the deities.

Problem, should buddhists really care for deities, the realms of existence, the concept of heaven and hell, the karma and so on? These are just the tip of the iceberg. There are far important issues in buddhism no?

Don't quote me on this, I've read this and heard this from a qi gong practitioner. The books journey to the west(written by a taoist) and the book The Investiture of the Gods (written by a monk) was a spat between taoism and buddhism. Now if we assume this anecdote as true, the books have pretty "imaginative" items. However, again it can be interpreted as a practitioner's state of mind. Should these things be taken literally? This is my question.

EDIT2: An interesting Zen Buddhism quote: “遇神杀神，遇佛杀佛”。 Translation: If you meet god, you kill god, If you meet buddha, you kill buddha. This sentence implies during the transitional stage of meditation, one will experience many "imaginative" things. Qi Gong says that these are "projections" from yourself and should never be taken serious nor should one be attached to it. Based on this, shouldn't we have taken the concept of deities literally?

Well i'm not questioning the legitimacy of the text. I'm questioning the interpretation and the importance placed on such knowledge instead of actual practice.
Now being one of the better known buddhists in the forum, you seem to be well read in the typical texts. My question for you would be thus, how do you practice buddhism? Do you simply learn? Or is it real practice to achieve greater heights in the state of mind your primary goal? Do you practice like a zen buddhist?

according to my research buddhism , after buddha died for a long time only than some one from his own sibling who is also his disciple begin to write his teaching down and it was not written right after he died. So there's a debate of time lapse between his death and the scripture his disciple wrote which i belive like 20 years ... correct me if im wrong on the number. so if im right, the accuracy of it has now been question by some. One may not have the technology like we have today to produce a Reality TV show that could provide any accurate timeline and journals that can be time capsule for the future .

oh ok! u mean deity are borned in the heavenly realm meaning ...? deity such as chi kong (mortal), monkey god (divine being), kuan kong(mortal),  , emperor of jade (divine being)etc...but they were all from China right?

soul2soul, have u heard of Kechara? what do u think of this organization?
will u suggest any other center to learn buddhism beside the brickfield one? one may got into the wrong teaching or false organisation . there's a lot of organisation out there now which provides humanitarian cause but don't get me wrong here, their intention are good but probably lost im suppose, i still believe that many temples in thailand are still very old and unlike many temples here which are built with high cost . There are lots of good monks in Thailand that still carrying a very simple life and moderate life which is purely the teaching of buddha. So one ought to be more careful of the mentor, the councils etc who have assimilated into the world of buddhism. You prob have known that buddhism had been cultivated for materialistic gain, politic issue and even military by zen buddhism in the past.

seem like u also avoiding some of my questions above. no problem as it's not fair to put you on the spot. thanks for the suggestion by the way and your advise is very worth it in here. i live in subang, if there's any nearby around this area will be good for me also . thanks alot soul 2 soul.

Yes. Because at that time nobody wanted to buy papers..so this businessman pretended to be dead...and his wife burnt papers for him... 3 days later he miraculously came back alive and he told the villagers that by burning the papers he cleared of his debt and the guardian of hell let him off the hook... and therefore this became one of the chinese traditions..

Today I feel that to avoid family ties from being severed , I need to find a place where these statuettes will be appreciated/respected and safe. I could not bring my heart to crush these beautiful art pieces because I have so much respect for buddhism. As someone also mentioned in the forum , I too believe that buddha could have been a prophet of God for Asia , as it was mentioned in the quran that there were thousands of 'nabi' in the world but only a handful of Messengers.
Who are we to say that Buddha's englightenment was not the will of God ?

Can anyone advise me on how I can go about finding a place for these statuettes ?
I've thought of approaching Mahayana temples but I fear it may be too sensitive.

Yeah it's basically another scam by chinese people altogether. or the inventors of paper to be exact. that's why i am quite against burning papers as it has no real purpose and it pollutes the environment/

by for the sake of tradition i will probably continue burning but will only burn in very very limited amounts (of course that would be at least 20-30 more years later when i have the authority to do what i want    )
The statues have no meaning at all in Buddhism. THe Buddha did not ask for any of these. It's just that his followers want to remember him thus they carve his face on wood and erect statues etc. I know that muslims & christians are very particular of these stuff so if you are worried maybe you can give them away. LYN garage sales is a good place to start if you want to give them away/sell. 

and no.. Buddha's enlightenment has nothing to do with god.. he had to work hard for millions of years before he became the buddha...

zstan, u're very knowledgeable. can i join your class/center/school of thought/guru/dharma activities? where?

on a nother note, someone mentioned about how kechara is. here's my 2 cents, it is very engaging, they r an active organization constantly spreading dharma with such skilful means via its impressive 13 departments. u can find their main office in dataran prima, somewhere thereabouts. ayam impressed with their dedication to their teacher HE Tsem Tulku Rinpoche and to Buddhism.

yes, penang. i used to go PBA sunday school during kindy and later mahindarama. was very active with the youth department at one point. and also from my school buddhist society. after coming to KL, my practice has been downhill to put it plainly  imma shy guy really, i miss all my buddhist friends in penang. i'm shy to go to any centre alone in KL i can't help it.