Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Anyone, who is looking for "hard facts" in fine matters of faith and enlightenment, is wasting his of her time on pseudo spiritual talks and distracting others on their paths. Turn your attention to the walks of the science, plenty to cement your mind with there.
All I am asking about is that in Buddhism there are all types of claims just like we find them, let's say, in Mormonism, about other worlds, gods, universes, buddhas (not in Mormonism obviously), etc. etc. BUT it all sounds totally mythological because nothing has been proven to exist. All the discussion of enlightenment based on the alleged teachings of Gautama Siddharta, if he existed, are both directed towards the ascetic life (at least as much as is known about in the wider public) and talking about enlightenment, following a master, etc. without any demonstrable proof of what they are talking about. And that covers all forms of Buddhism. First we understand that Sakyamuni Gautama Siddharta was key, then we hear about other people, especially Maitreya and of course Amitabha Buddha. But there is no information OUTSIDE OF BUDDHIST SOURCES about the existence of any of this......
bold above
if it sounds that way to you
then you're not able to benefit from it
reminds me of a description
someone walks out the front door of their house
and sees that a truck full of gold has been dumped in their front yard.
and they complain "it's ruining the lawn"
a person's "inability to understand" (a topic) does not indicate that those who do understand (the topic) "don't know what they are talking about."
Last edited by Tzaphkiel; 10-17-2021 at 02:12 PM..
"when the student is ready, the master appears"
"when the master is ready, the student appears"
when the student is not ready, the student demands proof.
and when the student is really not ready, the student says they don't know what they're talking about.
Unfortunately I don't see how you are addressing what I asked about. To be more straightforward, how do Buddhists know that everything described in Buddhist sects is not simply mythology since nothing can be demonstrably proven, and specifically the goal that everybody talks about constantly, becoming enlightened as a boddisatva or Buddha or whatever. Please try to address my points.
Unfortunately I don't see how you are addressing what I asked about. To be more straightforward, how do Buddhists know that everything described in Buddhist sects is not simply mythology since nothing can be demonstrably proven, and specifically the goal that everybody talks about constantly, becoming enlightened as a boddisatva or Buddha or whatever. Please try to address my points.
Well, for starters, you are confusing Buddhism with Buddha. Just like Christianity is confused with Yeshua Ga Notsri. Those are things quite well differing.
Buddha, Sukyamuni, never wrote a single word. And, btw, he was not ascetic, when he attained. He abandoned that practice years ago.
Anyhow. All he did was to show, that for those, who seek certain way, it is possible. He served as example. That was it.
What people made out of it, is THEIR own business.
Base line in Buddhism is - everyone must to find their own path. Those, who step on that path, will not be concerned with things such as proof. They will have that burning hunger inside for spiritual fulfillment. So strong, that they will give their life, if so needed, for it.
To one, who does not have such craving, it is not possible to understand their way.
To those, who don't know, even thousands of books are not enough.
To those, who do, even one word is too much.
When you have disparaged posts, has that reduced your suffering?
You know, I think you have a wrong impression of what it means to be a Buddhist. First, it's a very individualized path...not the same path for everyone. I would liken it to the times in my life when I have had blood pressure issues. As a former science teacher, I tend to be a data collector. So when my blood pressure or pulse rate are being problematic, I tend to keep more data. Some of my doctors say not to do that, and are quite adamant about it. But a couple of my doctors think like I do -- that not knowing is more stressful for me, than knowing. Buddhism is a little bit like that. The path for each person to reduce suffering in their lives is not the same for everyone.
Second, the idea that you appear to have is that Buddhists are supposed to be passive. I saw it written once that, "Buddhism isn't about being passive, it's about not being driven to activity by automatic impulses based on our conditioning". Think about that.
Third, you need to differentiate between this forum and 'real life'. It is extremely rare for me in 'real life' to be at all confrontational about religion. Of course, if a stranger knocks on my door (ignoring the "no soliciting" sign and trespassing) or walks up to me on the street and begins preaching at me, they may get a few choice words if they ignore my common response ("I'm not interested. Go away"). But aside from those incidents, the last time I had a tense conversation about religion -- in 'real life' -- was probably about 10 years ago. However, when you come to a PUBLIC forum, if you don't expect some frank exchange about religion, then you're in the wrong place. This is not a praise forum.
Within the last 24 hours on this forum, some other poster mentioned to YOU that you don't seem to realize that quite a few of your own posts -- particularly toward atheists -- are expressions of -- as you state above -- disdain and disapproval.
this forum IS real life. people are making posts and statements to other people online.
view expressed bold above seems to be making excuses for their own behavior, making excuses why it's ok to be antagonistic and confrontational to others in setting A, but not in setting B. regarding the oft repeated admonition to "focus on principles," well, that does not reduce suffering. regardless of the setting, we are still each responsible for our thought, speech, action, feelings.
brings to mind the saying about integrity: it is what a person does when no one is looking, or when they know they won't get caught.
Last edited by Tzaphkiel; 10-17-2021 at 03:15 PM..
When you have disparaged posts, has that reduced your suffering?
You know, I think you have a wrong impression of what it means to be a Buddhist. First, it's a very individualized path...not the same path for everyone. I would liken it to the times in my life when I have had blood pressure issues. As a former science teacher, I tend to be a data collector. So when my blood pressure or pulse rate are being problematic, I tend to keep more data. Some of my doctors say not to do that, and are quite adamant about it. But a couple of my doctors think like I do -- that not knowing is more stressful for me, than knowing. Buddhism is a little bit like that. The path for each person to reduce suffering in their lives is not the same for everyone.
Second, the idea that you appear to have is that Buddhists are supposed to be passive. I saw it written once that, "Buddhism isn't about being passive, it's about not being driven to activity by automatic impulses based on our conditioning". Think about that.
Third, you need to differentiate between this forum and 'real life'. It is extremely rare for me in 'real life' to be at all confrontational about religion. Of course, if a stranger knocks on my door (ignoring the "no soliciting" sign and trespassing) or walks up to me on the street and begins preaching at me, they may get a few choice words if they ignore my common response ("I'm not interested. Go away"). But aside from those incidents, the last time I had a tense conversation about religion -- in 'real life' -- was probably about 10 years ago. However, when you come to a PUBLIC forum, if you don't expect some frank exchange about religion, then you're in the wrong place. This is not a praise forum.
Within the last 24 hours on this forum, some other poster mentioned to YOU that you don't seem to realize that quite a few of your own posts -- particularly toward atheists -- are expressions of -- as you state above -- disdain and disapproval.
regarding bold above, the natural question is, why treat people online differently than how you treat people face to face.
if you don't treat people a certain way face to face, then why do you change your behavior towards others when you are online.
the "you" is generic, not specific to any one person.
those are questions for anyone, regarding the behavior noted and view expressed.
Well, for starters, you are confusing Buddhism with Buddha. Just like Christianity is confused with Yeshua Ga Notsri. Those are things quite well differing.
Buddha, Sukyamuni, never wrote a single word. And, btw, he was not ascetic, when he attained. He abandoned that practice years ago.
Anyhow. All he did was to show, that for those, who seek certain way, it is possible. He served as example. That was it.
What people made out of it, is THEIR own business.
Base line in Buddhism is - everyone must to find their own path. Those, who step on that path, will not be concerned with things such as proof. They will have that burning hunger inside for spiritual fulfillment. So strong, that they will give their life, if so needed, for it.
To one, who does not have such craving, it is not possible to understand their way.
To those, who don't know, even thousands of books are not enough.
To those, who do, even one word is too much.
this is excellent.
all of it.
Yes
Last edited by Tzaphkiel; 10-17-2021 at 03:43 PM..
this forum IS real life. people are making posts and statements to other people online.
view expressed bold above seems to be making excuses for their own behavior, making excuses why it's ok to be antagonistic and confrontational to others in setting A, but not in setting B. regarding the oft repeated admonition to "focus on principles," well, that does not reduce suffering. regardless of the setting, we are still each responsible for our thought, speech, action, feelings.
brings to mind the saying about integrity: it is what a person does when no one is looking, or when they know they won't get caught.
Not at all. When I go to my neighbor's house (the wife is a quite devoted Christian), I don't go there to talk religion. In fact, I don't go to anyone's house to talk religion. We have other topics to talk about. Religion rarely comes up.
When I go here, my purpose is to explore religion. And if you want to say it's about behavior, well okay -- would you like me to critique yours...again?
You cannot decide what reduces suffering for me. You can only decide what reduces suffering for you.
And then, once again, you attack. But that's okay because you're special.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
