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Buddhists pray for animals killed to halt disease outbreak
Haeran Hyun (AP, January 19, 2011
SEOUL — Hundreds of South Korean Buddhist monks and believers offered prayers Wednesday for more than 1.93 million cows, pigs and other animals that have been put to death in the country's worst outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
The Buddhists endured subfreezing temperatures to hold the rite at Jogye Temple, the headquarters of the Jogye Order, South Korea's largest Buddhist sect.
Prayer Is Pure Unadulterated Bull(no pun intended). I lived during a time when billions of prayers were offered for cancer and heart patients and they suffered and died anyway. Now through the efforts of modern medical science the same kinds of patients live into their eighties and sometimes nineties and guess what? Those who pray claim their prayers have been answered.
Last edited by june 7th; 01-24-2011 at 10:38 AM..
Reason: Modified to ahdere to city-data copyright
Prayer is the most powerful (and personal) force in this reality. In fact, everyone is performing some form of prayer every waking moment of life.
The fallacy:
One has to close his eyes, think of a deity, and offer a prayer (often formulated) to that deity.
While one form of prayer does take the form of a time-out to pray to a particular deity or ideal, it is not the sum of prayer but actually a very small fraction of prayer.
The fallacy:
A zillion people pray for a single thing, and nothing happens. Conclusion: prayer is worthless or false.
Prayer is the vehicle by which one gains the confidence to get something done.
There is nothing more lazy in this world than a bunch of people praying as well as criticizing prayer and then turn around and do nothing.
You pray for peace: okay. So, what the devil did you do today to help along the peace process for this world? Nothing? As expected.
Prayer is also the sum total of one's thinking and intentions. One theologian called prayer "work." When I set about to accomplish a task, that is a form of prayer, because I am putting all of my physical and mental abilities to accomplish that task or work.
These Buddhist monks, operating within their parameters of beliefs, were mourning the loss of souls, souls that might have been people at some form and time, souls that have to yet be reborn again because they were not allowed to finish out their time as an animal to regain human form.
What I perceive here is not an attack upon prayer as a whole but an attack on the right of other people's right to live the way they want to.
I would challenge any person to show me what authority they have to state that what one person believes is wrong and what another person believes is correct.
It is also within the right of a person to think another person is pretty stupid for believing in something that might be thought of as stupid. But that right does not extend to denigrating another for thinking a particular way.
It becomes obvious that the prayers of such negative and anti-people thinking is to promote the very opposite of peace. So, I would say that prayer works perfectly, because the vast majority of people still have not learned to love one another: they love only themselves and do their utmost to make sure that they are number one in this world. There can only be one number one, right? Nonsense! We are all number one. We just have to learn how to recognize that fact
Now through the efforts of modern medical science the same kinds of patients live into their eighties and sometimes nineties and guess what? Those who pray claim their prayers have been answered.
How many of those scientest prayed to find the answers to the patients suffering? If a doctor of science prays does their medicine become diluted?
Prayer is the most powerful (and personal) force in this reality. In fact, everyone is performing some form of prayer every waking moment of life.
It's called wishing your life away, selling yourself something that doesn't exist, might as well wish upon a star or make a wish before blowing out candles on a birthday cake. Pure unadulterated superstition.
Now through the efforts of modern medical science the same kinds of patients live into their eighties and sometimes nineties and guess what? Those who pray claim their prayers have been answered.
How many of those scientest prayed to find the answers to the patients suffering? If a doctor of science prays does their medicine become diluted?
Doctors don't pray for cures. Scientists sit in their labs experimenting with this, that and the other, then do clinical trials. I haven't heard of any Scientist who was given the answer to a problem without much trial and error.
Everyone is allowed their own feelings, perceptions, etc. about life.
What is nice about life--although frustrating at the same time--is that no one is absolutely correct or right.
In stating that what I wrote is "wishing," you missed the whole point of what I wrote.
"Wishing" is just wanting (verbalization or thinking) without doing anything about it.
Praying involves doing something about it.
Here is one form of prayer I learned and have witnessed often: (military) You want a promotion. So, you put the next rank in your drawer. Every day (once, twice, thrice: doesn't matter), you look at the rank. Subconciously, you are training your mind to do whatever it takes and to be aware of opportunities that will help attain the next rank.
The procedure works in any endeavor, such as a new home, a new job, and the like.
When people just chalk up beliefs and practices by other people as simply superstition or voodoo, I wonder if there is a story behind the pessimistic attitude or perception. I am reminded of Scott Calvin's ex-wife and her new husband who stopped believing in Santa Claus and did all they could do to suppress even the spirit of Santa Claus because Santa Claus disappointed them at an early age. We naturaly know that mom and dad are Santa Claus, and for whatever reason were not able to fulfill their children's expectations. Sad to say, the children themselves--now adults--allowed their own psychological health to be damaged.
There is so much negativity in this world. Negativity begets more negativity. Negativity is the heart's desire, despite all the songs and lip service to the opposite. We as a unique species on this planet worship at the altar of degradation and destruction of our fellow man.
This mental activity has power, as much power as the magnetic north of our planet has on iron. This idea is easily witnessed by one person entering a crowded room. Just the presence of the individual changes other people. The mental activity of prayer is no different than the mental activity to become popular or dominant over other people. And when a person enters a room to control, there is no wishing involved: there is a conscious effort to dominate.
Everyone is allowed their own feelings, perceptions, etc. about life.
What is nice about life--although frustrating at the same time--is that no one is absolutely correct or right.
In stating that what I wrote is "wishing," you missed the whole point of what I wrote.
"Wishing" is just wanting (verbalization or thinking) without doing anything about it.
Praying involves doing something about it.
Here is one form of prayer I learned and have witnessed often: (military) You want a promotion. So, you put the next rank in your drawer. Every day (once, twice, thrice: doesn't matter), you look at the rank. Subconciously, you are training your mind to do whatever it takes and to be aware of opportunities that will help attain the next rank.
The procedure works in any endeavor, such as a new home, a new job, and the like.
When people just chalk up beliefs and practices by other people as simply superstition or voodoo, I wonder if there is a story behind the pessimistic attitude or perception. I am reminded of Scott Calvin's ex-wife and her new husband who stopped believing in Santa Claus and did all they could do to suppress even the spirit of Santa Claus because Santa Claus disappointed them at an early age. We naturaly know that mom and dad are Santa Claus, and for whatever reason were not able to fulfill their children's expectations. Sad to say, the children themselves--now adults--allowed their own psychological health to be damaged.
There is so much negativity in this world. Negativity begets more negativity. Negativity is the heart's desire, despite all the songs and lip service to the opposite. We as a unique species on this planet worship at the altar of degradation and destruction of our fellow man.
This mental activity has power, as much power as the magnetic north of our planet has on iron. This idea is easily witnessed by one person entering a crowded room. Just the presence of the individual changes other people. The mental activity of prayer is no different than the mental activity to become popular or dominant over other people. And when a person enters a room to control, there is no wishing involved: there is a conscious effort to dominate.
I think you are using a different definition of "prayer" than most of us.
Your interpretation seems to be using a positive attitude, and has nothing to do with asking god for stuff.
Yes, I am using a much larger definition of prayer.
Here's the rub (and I am happy that you see my point): when in debating any subject, one assumes that everyone will understand the delimited definition of a word.
THus, when, say, one states that prayer is stupid, you have people like me who brings to the table a wider concept of the whole cornucopia of definitions and concepts.
I have several books on the subject in my library. And believe me, there are just about as many concepts on prayer as their are writers on the subject.
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I feel very strongly that the human brain can no more divorce prayer than divorce thinking.
You get up in the morning and begin to plan out your itinerary. Prayer.
For me, I hope that I have a bowel movement before going to work. Prayer.
Start the car up. Think about possible car accident and avoiding one. Prayer.
Missed a deadline. Hope "to God" the Boss doesn't call me on the carpet. Prayer.
Significant other's special day. Want to buy a nice gift and then hope he/she is esctatic. Prayer.
Watching sports on TV (or live), rooting for a particular play or action to occur. Prayer.
Prayer delimited to a deity is actually a very, very small percentage of the total amount of prayer in the average person's life. If prayer works--and it does 99% of the time--then the small percentage of prayer to some kind of deity should not be a big deal for any of us.
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