If You Could?

[Cowardly]

Hope requires a strong self to mediate between our ideals and our desires. So if Buddhism says the self is an illusion, it can only lead to the acceptance, even the valorisation, of fate.

If we give up our self, we are left without agency, we know we are left without control, and left to fate.

Not necessarily. Buddhism says we should let go of the self in order to see reality as it is, and only when we see reality as it is we are able to change it, or keep it the same, if that's what we decide.

I don't believe it's an illusion, more of an abstract concept.

 

[Mole]

Not necessarily. Buddhism says we should let go of the self in order to see reality as it is, and only when we see reality as it is we are able to change it, or keep it the same, if that's what we decide.

I don't believe it's an illusion, more of an abstract concept.

It's interesting, the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are each teleological, while Buddhism is circular and repetitive, sometimes called the eternal return.

So the Abrahamic religions are directional, they lead in the direction of history, while Buddhism deliberately abandons direction in the interests of discovering reality.

We now know that Buddhist meditation entrances us, and in the first trance, induces a second trance, and in the second a third, and in the third a fourth. And in the fourth level trance the content of the trance is perceived as reality.

And the reality we perceive in a fourth level trance is an illusion.

 

[Cowardly]

We now know that Buddhist meditation entrances us, and in the first trance, induces a second trance, and in the second a third, and in the third a fourth. And in the fourth level trance the content of the trance is perceived as reality.

And the reality we perceive in a fourth level trance is an illusion.

I never got that far.

In any case, Buddha talked of karma - and it being the reason why we should always do good. This doesn't seem like fatalism to me.

 

[Mole]

I didn't get that far.

In any case, Buddha talked of karma - and it being the reason why we should always do good. This doesn't seem like fatalism to me.

Karma is fatalism. Reward and punishment are taken out of our hands and put in the hands of karma.

Karma means we don't correct ourselves, because karma does it for us.

And if we look at the histories of Buddhist societies, we don't find much social or moral progress. Of course the Buddhist propaganda is that Buddhism is a religion of peace.

And interestingly, as we have seen the decline of the teleological religions of the West, it has become fashionable to entertain Buddhism, without understanding the history or the philosophy.

 

[Cowardly]

Karma is fatalism. Reward and punishment are taken out of our hands and put in the hands of karma.

Karma means we don't correct ourselves, because karma does it for us.

Those who believe in karma act in order to keep karmic harm from themselves. This is a choice. This is agency. It is not fatalistic to try to shape the future.

These details are irrelevant though, because they change from school to school.

And if we look at the histories of Buddhist societies, we don't find much social or moral progress. Of course the Buddhist propaganda is that Buddhism is a religion of peace.

This doesn't matter. Religions are based on static beliefs. A society that runs on static beliefs does not see progress. You need ideological conflict for that. Buddhism is not centered on political progress, but it is not based on dogma either, which sets it apart from some other religions.

I don't doubt it's been used to wield power.

And interestingly, as we have seen the decline of the teleological religions of the West, it has become fashionable to entertain Buddhism, without understanding the history or the philosophy.

I believe one would understand the history and philosophy of a religion after entertaining it. It doesn't surprise me, it's one of the major religions of the world yet considerably different from the Abrahamic. A natural next step for someone who's looking for novelty in religion.

 

[Kanra Jest]

You are into Buddhism, aren't you?

He's obviously just from a much higher frequency of thought than we are. He's a mole from the 4th dimension plane.

 

[Punderstorm]

1) Would you travel to the past or the future?
Hmmmm, I'd love to travel back in time to see concerts, extinct animals and other old things like that but I also want to go forward in time to experience the changes the future holds. I don't think I'm really old enough to decide what direction in time I'd like to go in.

2) If you could only travel to the past, what past event would you choose to witness? Your birth? Seeing your Grandparent's meet? The trial of Galileo? The Beatles performing? ANYthing your heart desires.
I'd love to see Queen, David Bowie or maybe Ledd Zepplin play at their prime.

 

[RedAmazoneFriendZone]

The future. So that I may be able not to wonder anymore so many questions... But finally, would it be fun and intriguing

 

[RedAmazoneFriendZone]

Karma is fatalism. Reward and punishment are taken out of our hands and put in the hands of karma.

There are several kinds of buddhism and in the one I do study we do think we can work on our own karma (family karma, social karma, personal karma).

Fatalism doesn't exist for this Japanese Buddhism as you become aware and "en éveil". That all depends on your consciousness and acceptance of

nature (including human being)

 

[entropie]

There are several kinds of buddhism and in the one I do study we do think we can work on our own karma (family karma, social karma, personal karma).

Fatalism doesn't exist for this Japanese Buddhism as you become aware and "en éveil". That all depends on your consciousness and acceptance of

nature (including human being)

And what do you accept for a human being?

 

[magpie]

Future. About 10,000 or so years. As long as I wouldn't be stuck there forever in potentially empty space.

 

[Mole]

The future. So that I may be able not to wonder anymore so many questions... But finally, would it be fun and intriguing

To think travel to the future would answer your questions about the present is a fantasy because the present would no longer exist.

The real question is: what is your fantasy hiding?

 

[Mole]

Future. About 10,000 or so years. As long as I wouldn't be stuck there forever in potentially empty space.

It is possible to travel to the future, but there is no way back to the present due to entropy.

It's probably better to stick to your readings.

 

[Mole]

There are several kinds of buddhism and in the one I do study we do think we can work on our own karma (family karma, social karma, personal karma).

Fatalism doesn't exist for this Japanese Buddhism as you become aware and "en éveil". That all depends on your consciousness and acceptance of

nature (including human being)

Japanese Buddhism gave Japan Bushido.

Bushido became the order for the Japanese people under the Emperor.

Bushido committed war crimes, gave us suicide bombers, and mass cruelty to subject populations.

Of course a West that has seen a decline in its own religion is attracted to the New Age religion. And Japanese Buddhism (Zen) forms part of the centrepiece of the New Age.

So the popularity of Zen in the West is a testament to our narcissism.

 

[Lia_kat]

I love history so the past for me...to see different centuries and events. Vikings and pagans. Medieval times. The Reinassance. First Native Americans. The Victorian era.. Etc.

Oh and also go back to the 80's for awesome movies and music.

 

[mystik_INFJ]

Would you travel to the past or the future?

The future. I've already been to the past. I'm coming from there. I want to explore the stars. I want to travel to the most exotic corners of the Universe. For that I need Warp drive, quantum mechanics (antimatter) and the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D).

 

[Mole]

The future. I've already been to the past. I'm coming from there. I want to explore the stars. I want to travel to the most exotic corners of the Universe. For that I need Warp drive, quantum mechanics (antimatter) and the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D).

With the invention of the printing press in 1440 we stated to explode outwards into colonialism, for instance. And with the invention of the electric telegraph in 1840 we started to implode inwards towards our psyches on, for instance, Typology Central. But we continue to drive forward looking in the rear vision mirror, trying futilely to colonise the universe.

 

[Luv Deluxe]

Future, no contest.

I kind of want an apocalypse or the post-apocalypse. A large part of me is desperately attracted to watching everything stripped away from itself, and all my life I've been wandering anyway. Let's Mad Max this shit.

I think I have a death fetish.

 

[mystik_INFJ]

With the invention of the printing press in 1440 we stated to explode outwards into colonialism, for instance. And with the invention of the electric telegraph in 1840 we started to implode inwards towards our psyches on, for instance, Typology Central. But we continue to drive forward looking in the rear vision mirror, trying futilely to colonise the universe.

The Earth is the cradle of the mind, but one cannot eternally live in a cradle, or so the word goes.

There is nothing wrong with expanding our horizon beyond the horizon. It is the natural way. We may learn a thing or two in doing that.

Plus, in about 1 billion years the Earth will most likely be devoid of life as the Sun increases its luminosity another 10%. Need I talk about the Red Gian Phase that awaits us in about 5 billion years? I don't know why you call colonizing the Universe futile, but if you have a death wish, you need not wait for the heat death of the universe or the degenerative era to conclude your own legacy.

 

[Mole]

The Earth is the cradle of the mind, but one cannot eternally live in a cradle, or so the word goes.

There is nothing wrong with expanding our horizon beyond the horizon. It is the natural way. We may learn a thing or two in doing that.

Plus, in about 1 billion years the Earth will most likely be devoid of life as the Sun increases its luminosity another 10%. Need I talk about the Red Gian Phase that awaits us in about 5 billion years? I don't know why you call colonizing the Universe futile, but if you have a death wish, you need not wait for the heat death of the universe or the degenerative era to conclude your own legacy.

When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?