Mind elaborating? Do you really think that mormonism makes an equal amount of sense to buddhism? Wouldn't the lack of a deity alone make it more sensible than any of the deific religions? |
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157 is a prime number. The next prime is 163 and the previous prime is 151, which with 157 form a sexy prime triplet. Taking the arithmetic mean of those primes yields 157, thus it is a balanced prime.
Women and rhythm section first - Jaco Pastorious
I pretended to be a Buddhist when I was 15 for awhile because I thought it would be cool and hip. Then I read some of the buddhist literature in class and I realized it was kind of crazy like all the other religions. But I mostly stopped pretending to be a buddhist because I soon realized every kid with dreads and a Bob Marley shirt "is buddhist" so I said no fuck that. |
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You get from it what you get from it; what some people find meaningful, other people find as nonsense! For as long as it helps me put context to experience, I think it's beneficial. Also, there is much about non-violence (ahimsa to Hinduism) which is also typically a beneficial thing to others. |
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Buddhism is tough to pin down because it differs a lot from region to region (let alone how mangled it got by Westerners in the 20th century). Some elements of Buddhism (such as rebirth) are equally faith-based and superstitious as aspects of other religions. Things start really getting trippy in Buddhist cosmology. |
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Rebirth, and all the other "trippy shit, for that matter, only emerged after Buddhism merged with Hinduism though. |
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Saying "Buddhism merged with Hinduism" is like saying Christianity merged with Judaism. |
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If you have a sense of caring for others, you will manifest a kind of inner strength in spite of your own difficulties and problems. With this strength, your own problems will seem less significant and bothersome to you. By going beyond your own problems and taking care of others, you gain inner strength, self-confidence, courage, and a greater sense of calm.Dalai Lama
I know it basically split off from Hinduism. But it still merged with it later on too. |
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Rebirth according to the law of karma is a rather prominent and central feature of the Buddha's teachings, not a late addition. While it is true that he discredited reincarnation, he did so by discrediting our fundamental assumptions about forms and persistence of the self between birth and death. If one continues to see oneself as an independent entity in a world of forms with fixed qualities, then reincarnation might as well be the case. If one is not dedicated to complete liberation from suffering, reincarnation is virtually, for all intents and purposes, the case. To the extent that you exist now, you will be reborn. Your existence is rebirth, without beginning or end. |
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If you have a sense of caring for others, you will manifest a kind of inner strength in spite of your own difficulties and problems. With this strength, your own problems will seem less significant and bothersome to you. By going beyond your own problems and taking care of others, you gain inner strength, self-confidence, courage, and a greater sense of calm.Dalai Lama
I think it is clear that there is quite a bit more metaphysical content in Buddhism than Tathagata might have liked: Kathavatthu Sutta: Topics of Conversation (1) |
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Previously PhilosopherStoned
157 is a prime number. The next prime is 163 and the previous prime is 151, which with 157 form a sexy prime triplet. Taking the arithmetic mean of those primes yields 157, thus it is a balanced prime.
Women and rhythm section first - Jaco Pastorious
A preoccupation with discounting what appears, without reflection, extraordinary or supernatural suggests an excess of faith in what one takes for ordinary and natural. |
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If you have a sense of caring for others, you will manifest a kind of inner strength in spite of your own difficulties and problems. With this strength, your own problems will seem less significant and bothersome to you. By going beyond your own problems and taking care of others, you gain inner strength, self-confidence, courage, and a greater sense of calm.Dalai Lama
Avalokiteśvara is as real as a tree. If you push a tree, you will feel resistance and if you honestly call on Avalokiteśvara for aid, you will feel the compassion of all the Buddhas both historic and celestial coming to your assistance. If you don't honestly call Avalokiteśvara, just as if you don't honestly push the tree, your results may differ. Avalokiteśvara is there to be called upon. |
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Last edited by PhilosopherStoned; 12-30-2011 at 12:54 AM.
Previously PhilosopherStoned
I dunno, I just don't experience any of this stuff as relating to gods. Can't compassion for oneself come from within? Is it Avalokiteśvara or is it just you? Is that even a meaningful question? Regardless the compassion is what makes the difference, the love. Not some god. |
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157 is a prime number. The next prime is 163 and the previous prime is 151, which with 157 form a sexy prime triplet. Taking the arithmetic mean of those primes yields 157, thus it is a balanced prime.
Women and rhythm section first - Jaco Pastorious
If you have a sense of caring for others, you will manifest a kind of inner strength in spite of your own difficulties and problems. With this strength, your own problems will seem less significant and bothersome to you. By going beyond your own problems and taking care of others, you gain inner strength, self-confidence, courage, and a greater sense of calm.Dalai Lama
Yes. I'll elaborate if you want but I'd rather not. |
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157 is a prime number. The next prime is 163 and the previous prime is 151, which with 157 form a sexy prime triplet. Taking the arithmetic mean of those primes yields 157, thus it is a balanced prime.
Women and rhythm section first - Jaco Pastorious
I'm afraid I still don't understand what Buddhism is. No one in this thread has given a straight answer. Some people say it's just a way of living your life to maximize happiness, but I do that already, does that mean I'm a Buddhist? Even though I've never read any Buddhist literature or ever even remotely associated myself with it? |
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Buddhism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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157 is a prime number. The next prime is 163 and the previous prime is 151, which with 157 form a sexy prime triplet. Taking the arithmetic mean of those primes yields 157, thus it is a balanced prime.
Women and rhythm section first - Jaco Pastorious
What's a Christian? I'm a Christian and Ne-yo's a Christian, but I doubt we have one thought in common on Christ or just what's going on here. A Buddhist is someone who adheres in one form or another to the teachings of the historical Buddha and/or the individuals and institutions left in the wake of his life on earth. While some Buddhists do take a fundamentalist, "My way or the highway" approach, most at least accept that the dharma/dhamma (most simply: the teachings) can take many forms or vehicles, and there is a growing strain of Universalism among Buddhists, particularly those who revere the Dalai Lama. |
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If you have a sense of caring for others, you will manifest a kind of inner strength in spite of your own difficulties and problems. With this strength, your own problems will seem less significant and bothersome to you. By going beyond your own problems and taking care of others, you gain inner strength, self-confidence, courage, and a greater sense of calm.Dalai Lama
Nope, still don't get it. I guess I never will. |
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Well, there's always Pure Land Buddhism, which pretty much follows the evangelical model: hear about a nice man, say a magic spell, and go to happyland forever. |
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If you have a sense of caring for others, you will manifest a kind of inner strength in spite of your own difficulties and problems. With this strength, your own problems will seem less significant and bothersome to you. By going beyond your own problems and taking care of others, you gain inner strength, self-confidence, courage, and a greater sense of calm.Dalai Lama
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