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Post by rjhangover on Nov 4, 2017 12:57:59 GMT -5
The Dali lama speaks of the soul.... He explored the concept of a soul, which in the Buddhist tradition, cannot be viewed separately from the body and mind, but also cannot be said to have a beginning or an end. The talk revolved around what he called the three fundamental questions: What is the “I”? Does it have a beginning? Does it have an end? “This, my body, now is over 70 years old,” he said, but it is not the same body he had as a child. Just as the body has changed, so has the mind. Even on the atomic level, the physical self is in constant flux. The self exists due to the body and mind, yet “we could trace material continuity of our body to conception, and then back to the big bang. We can find material causes of our body even at the beginning of the universe,” he said. Buddhism calls on its followers to recognize the self as impermanent as “an antidote to reduce extreme self-centeredness.” Other religions have different beliefs, but aim towards a similar effect by different . . . In each case, the philosophical framework serves to move the faithful away from self-absorption. Yet, he said, there are contradictions between religions and within religions. Buddhism has multiple sects, and the world’s major religions have different notions of an afterlife, soul and creator. This serves the purpose of addressing the “different mental dispositions” of the world’s people. “There are six billion human beings. Just one religion is simply not sufficient,” he said. Becoming educated about other religions helps to develop tolerance without undermining faith, because understanding and belief are different, he said. “All people in this room should know (about other religions), so we can develop respect for all traditions. But faith is a different thing. I’m Buddhist, my faith is Buddhist,” he said, yet that doesn’t keep him from respecting other traditions or seeing similarities. For most people, it is best to keep to the faith of their birth, he said, because they have a deeper understanding of it. A few people may be convinced that another religion suits them better and may be moved to practice it seriously, but for most, “it’s very important to keep one’s own tradition.” www.american.edu/americantoday/campus-news/101209-dalai-lama-bender.cfmWe are not always reincarnated into the same religion.....that's is so as to learn the lessons of other religions, because the ultimate consciousness created all religions. To gain enlightenment, is to learn all the truths. the Dali Lama is a Tibetan Buddhist...very different from Ch'an Buddhist. I respect him and his faith but one size do not fit all... there are many schools of thought and of which the Tibetan traditions are different from others , just as in Christian faiths, there are different belief in each.... as I say I respect the Dali Lama but as I respect all other beliefs, but I see them as mistaken. In Ch'an Buddhism, mostly the practitioner relies on himself or herself to obtain enlightenment through meditation not through rituals as in Tibetan traditions of chanting and performing rituals. Buddhism itself in all it's forms rejects the idea of an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent creator god. Rebirth is in multiples until reaching ultimate Nirvana. Buddha is a central figure of Ch'an thought and believed to exist in another realm and is able to help humans although not heavily relied on or acts in the traditional role of a "god" Ch'an Buddhism is actually a combination of both Buddhist thoughts and Taoism. As for the concept of soul... buddhanature is to be devoid of all concepts of the self and identity, as well as birth, death, time, space.... in other words.... no soul.So Buddhism is like Christian religions, like Catholics, Protestants, and Baptists....they all claim to be the true religion. Muslims too....there are the Sunni and Shiite....they've been fighting over which one is more true for millennia. Funny that your "non god" is better than Tibetan "non god".....guess that's why the Chinese want to throw the Dali lama in prison.
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Post by chinadoll1981 on Nov 4, 2017 13:21:49 GMT -5
the Dali Lama is a Tibetan Buddhist...very different from Ch'an Buddhist. I respect him and his faith but one size do not fit all... there are many schools of thought and of which the Tibetan traditions are different from others , just as in Christian faiths, there are different belief in each.... as I say I respect the Dali Lama but as I respect all other beliefs, but I see them as mistaken. In Ch'an Buddhism, mostly the practitioner relies on himself or herself to obtain enlightenment through meditation not through rituals as in Tibetan traditions of chanting and performing rituals. Buddhism itself in all it's forms rejects the idea of an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent creator god. Rebirth is in multiples until reaching ultimate Nirvana. Buddha is a central figure of Ch'an thought and believed to exist in another realm and is able to help humans although not heavily relied on or acts in the traditional role of a "god" Ch'an Buddhism is actually a combination of both Buddhist thoughts and Taoism. As for the concept of soul... buddhanature is to be devoid of all concepts of the self and identity, as well as birth, death, time, space.... in other words.... no soul. So Buddhism is like Christian religions, like Catholics, Protestants, and Baptists....they all claim to be the true religion. Muslims too....there are the Sunni and Shiite....they've been fighting over which one is more true for millennia. Funny that your "non god" is better than Tibetan "non god".....guess that's why the Chinese want to throw the Dali lama in prison. No one say "we better" that is not point... all I say is there is no creator god... so say the Dali Lama at heart of his teachings... just because he practice a different way not mean is better nor good.... just different. The Chinese wish to imprison him for political reasons and fear of him and what he represents. The Tibetans believe that he is the incarnation of Avalokiteśvara, the Buddha of Compassion. The Chinese, being Communists are devoted atheists BUT.... ha!... also extremely religiously superstitious as well which contradicts their party structure So the Chinese in order to destroy what they see as a threat against them... want to have a hand in seeing who will be 15th Dali Lama so they can control the people.... not will work and is folly to think it will...
I am Han Chinese... but not Communist nor ever were. My family fled the PRC because of many reason.... and religious freedom was one reason. In Taiwan, more freedom.... many religions flourish, Buddhist, Christians, Taoists, Muslims... many live side by side.
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Post by tnthomas on Nov 5, 2017 0:10:39 GMT -5
@chinadoll, left field is an important position! Majority of batters are right-handed, and pulling the ball to LF. running-around-smiley-emoticon wikipedia-left fielder
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Post by tnthomas on Nov 5, 2017 0:34:25 GMT -5
How can evangelicals claim to be Christian... I know what you mean. I have had co-workers who were evangelicals, and a couple of my wife's friends are also. One trait these evangelicals have in common is: they always talk about Jesus' love, and like to punctuate their speech with "praise Jesus". Alright, no problem with that, i'm Christian(Lutheran) so no heartburn there. However, these evangelicals speak kind of hatefully towards other groups, gays, and have a distorted view of world events(FOX news). They frequently quote from the Bible...O,K, with me, but it's usually from the OLD testament and are passages that support their judgmental stance, Yea, they say that they love Jesus, but it doesn't appear that they love what Jesus stands for, and died on the cross for. Jesus was not a Reagan Republican, more like an Abbie Hoffman radical.
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Post by butterfly on Nov 5, 2017 4:55:10 GMT -5
How can evangelicals claim to be Christian... I know what you mean. I have had co-workers who were evangelicals, and a couple of my wife's friends are also. One trait these evangelicals have in common is: they always talk about Jesus' love, and like to punctuate their speech with "praise Jesus". Alright, no problem with that, i'm Christian(Lutheran) so no heartburn there. However, these evangelicals speak kind of hatefully towards other groups, gays, and have a distorted view of world events(FOX news). They frequently quote from the Bible...O,K, with me, but it's usually from the OLD testament and are passages that support their judgmental stance, Yea, they say that they love Jesus, but it doesn't appear that they love what Jesus stands for, and died on the cross for. Jesus was not a Reagan Republican, more like an Abbie Hoffman radical. I agree. I also am a Lutheran, and what I see coming from so-called evangelicals bears little or no similarity to the teachings of Jesus or to what he did. Saying "praise Jesus" every five minutes does not make one a Christian, and spewing hate and judgment towards your fellow man because you do not agree with his/her lifestyle pretty much proves you are not one.
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Post by QuickSilver on Nov 5, 2017 6:15:11 GMT -5
I know what you mean. I have had co-workers who were evangelicals, and a couple of my wife's friends are also. One trait these evangelicals have in common is: they always talk about Jesus' love, and like to punctuate their speech with "praise Jesus". Alright, no problem with that, i'm Christian(Lutheran) so no heartburn there. However, these evangelicals speak kind of hatefully towards other groups, gays, and have a distorted view of world events(FOX news). They frequently quote from the Bible...O,K, with me, but it's usually from the OLD testament and are passages that support their judgmental stance, Yea, they say that they love Jesus, but it doesn't appear that they love what Jesus stands for, and died on the cross for. Jesus was not a Reagan Republican, more like an Abbie Hoffman radical. I agree. I also am a Lutheran, and what I see coming from so-called evangelicals bears little or no similarity to the teachings of Jesus or to what he did. Saying "praise Jesus" every five minutes does not make one a Christian, and spewing hate and judgment towards your fellow man because you do not agree with his/her lifestyle pretty much proves you are not one. It appears to me that Evangelicals have one trait in common.. They LOVE authoritarianism.... They LOVE to see punishment and wrath directed at anyone that does not fit into their narrow view of the world. They seem to have the need to follow an authoritarian leader feeling that this person offers them protection of their world view.. Hence.. the love of someone like Trump, and even the admiration of a figure like Putin. This is the reason I believe reason they cherry pick the Bible for the most damning and violent examples while ignoring the kindness and inclusiveness, which seem to threaten them for some reason. NO.. Evangelicals are definitely not following the teachings of Christ.
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Post by tnthomas on Nov 5, 2017 8:47:22 GMT -5
They LOVE authoritarianism.... They LOVE to see punishment and wrath directed at anyone that does not fit into their narrow view of the world. That pretty much nails it, in my experience. Too bad, but as is mentioned in Matthew 7:21: It is the twenty-first verse of the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This verse continues Jesus' warning against false prophets.
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Post by QuickSilver on Nov 5, 2017 9:58:27 GMT -5
I also believe that the Evangelicals who make up a large portion of Trump's base are consumed by fear.. Fear that their way of life and world view is being threatened by "others"... Those "Others" can be foreign, or a different race or religion, or a different sexual orientation, or even a different political ideology. They need assurances from an authoritarian figure that he/she will protect them and protect their way of life.. Trump fed into this need with laser precision. So did the Russian trolls targeting these people and those who were on the fence by highlighting those fears and promising protection. (That's why it's really hard to believe there was no collusion between the Trump Campaign and the Russians.) Even when it came to welcoming Russian interference, or at least not caring about it. These evangelicals were even able to excuse the behavior of Trump and his associates, no matter how vulgar and no matter how antithetical to their values.. so long as he promised their security. It's really very sad..
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Post by tnthomas on Nov 5, 2017 11:20:32 GMT -5
The fear factor is key. The scary stuff about America for these folks in the present are(is ?)
1.Global economy- is inevitable in a free enterprise economic/business model. In order to sustain Free Enterprise you must have increase consumption and expanding markets. Real communism is essentially dead, doesn't work. China is communist only in the way they govern, their economic model is strictly free enterprise. They like making money! Anyway, as foriegn countries step up the competition for markets and JOBs, America's share is going to shrink. The U.S. is behind the 8 ball, corporate shareholder driven business structure has locked corporations into NEEDING high rate of returns. Employees have already been robbed of as much wages and benefits as they can tolerate. Indeed, the ranks of the working poor have grown considerably.
2.Growing population of "non-whites" Facing the prospect of losing social status and power has the evangelicals/Trump followers verry nervous. I would like to think that Trump's presidency will be the "last hurrah" for these people, but I suspect this conflict will continue for some time.
3.Increased diversity losing control over the value system and mindset of the populace simply has the evangelicals/Trump judgmental crowd in an absolute tailspin. Arguing issues that have been settled decades ago(Roe vs Wade) and continuing the struggle over LBGTQ rights(to be themselves without government prejudice.)
Of course, we'll be staying the course with our decades old failed Cuban trade embargo....and continue to perpetuate the hoax(on a Federal level) of all the alleged horrors of pot use, and continue keeping marijuana classified as a class 1 controlled substance, despite the growing number of states moving to legal it.
Speaking of states rights, that used to be a right-wing buzz word...what ever happened to that?
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Post by rjhangover on Nov 5, 2017 12:03:55 GMT -5
tnthomasThe red states and feds keep pot illegal for the reason to keep funding the DEA, ATF, FBI and the court system. But the states that have legalized pot are making so much money on the taxes of it, that they don't have a deficit any more. Eventually all the states will catch on, like they did with gambling. At first only New Jersey and Nevada had casinos....now about the only state that doesn't have one is Utah. The rich would much rather have stoners and gamblers pay off the national debt.
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Post by chinadoll1981 on Nov 5, 2017 12:10:35 GMT -5
tnthomas The red states and feds keep pot illegal for the reason to keep funding the DEA, ATF, FBI and the court system. But the states that have legalized pot are making so much money on the taxes of it, that they don't have a deficit any more. Eventually all the states will catch on, like they did with gambling. At first only New Jersey and Nevada had casinos....now about the only state that doesn't have one is Utah. The rich would much rather have stoners and gamblers pay off the national debt. It is truly pity to pay off debt on the reliance of addicted people.... very sad
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Post by rjhangover on Nov 5, 2017 12:30:11 GMT -5
tnthomas The red states and feds keep pot illegal for the reason to keep funding the DEA, ATF, FBI and the court system. But the states that have legalized pot are making so much money on the taxes of it, that they don't have a deficit any more. Eventually all the states will catch on, like they did with gambling. At first only New Jersey and Nevada had casinos....now about the only state that doesn't have one is Utah. The rich would much rather have stoners and gamblers pay off the national debt. It is truly pity to pay off debt on the reliance of addicted people.... very sad Pot is not addictive....I stopped many times over forty years, and had to quit because of my lung problem. I do still miss it though, because I think it made me more at peace, and kept me from wanting to get rid of a**holes like Trump. Gambling is mentally addictive.
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Post by chinadoll1981 on Nov 5, 2017 12:37:38 GMT -5
if you need substance for peace and to curb anger and like to keep using... it is addicting... as for gambling... that is addicting... mental or no... it is using people's weakness to make money.... shame
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Post by Sunkist on Nov 5, 2017 15:03:29 GMT -5
I agree. I also am a Lutheran, and what I see coming from so-called evangelicals bears little or no similarity to the teachings of Jesus or to what he did. Saying "praise Jesus" every five minutes does not make one a Christian, and spewing hate and judgment towards your fellow man because you do not agree with his/her lifestyle pretty much proves you are not one. It appears to me that Evangelicals have one trait in common.. They LOVE authoritarianism.... They LOVE to see punishment and wrath directed at anyone that does not fit into their narrow view of the world. They seem to have the need to follow an authoritarian leader feeling that this person offers them protection of their world view.. Hence.. the love of someone like Trump, and even the admiration of a figure like Putin. This is the reason I believe reason they cherry pick the Bible for the most damning and violent examples while ignoring the kindness and inclusiveness, which seem to threaten them for some reason. NO.. Evangelicals are definitely not following the teachings of Christ. It was only quite recently that I started noticing the term 'Evangelicals' has been grabbed by Fundamentalists, which was another subject I'd heard nothing about til recent years. Fundamentalists assert that THEY are 'Christians,' and other (genuine) Christians are not. Fundamentalism as it's being spread these days allegedly began in the 1920s, and they even took over the Southern Baptist Convention in the late 1970s. Instead of the CHRISTIAN approach 'God so LOVED the world,' it's all about 'wrath,' and as you said authoritarianism. To show how nutty it is, I learned they even asserted that God was responsible for the JFK assassination, claiming it was God's Wrath over the U.S. Supreme Court taking prayer out of public schools. But as screwy as all this is, we can't afford to ignore it, because Fundamentalists are gaining too much power in this country.
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Post by QuickSilver on Nov 5, 2017 15:12:35 GMT -5
It appears to me that Evangelicals have one trait in common.. They LOVE authoritarianism.... They LOVE to see punishment and wrath directed at anyone that does not fit into their narrow view of the world. They seem to have the need to follow an authoritarian leader feeling that this person offers them protection of their world view.. Hence.. the love of someone like Trump, and even the admiration of a figure like Putin. This is the reason I believe reason they cherry pick the Bible for the most damning and violent examples while ignoring the kindness and inclusiveness, which seem to threaten them for some reason. NO.. Evangelicals are definitely not following the teachings of Christ. But as screwy as all this is, we can't afford to ignore it, because Fundamentalists are gaining too much power in this country. That power gain can be placed squarely on the shoulders of the GOP... It was the GOP that courted the Evangelical/Fundamentalist vote.. especially in the south.. "VOTE FOR US"!! and we will, ban abortion, make homosexuality illegal, protect your gun rights from the nonexistent threat by "liberals" and on an on.. Making promise after promise on all the social issues the far Right just love to obsess over. AND.. election after election they believed them and voted Republican... Republicans never had any intention on keeping those promises.. they just wanted to get into power to push their fiscal agenda.. Well... before long the Religious Right caught on to how they were being played and how none of the promises were being kept.. So they began running their own candidates... that's how the tea party and now the Alt Right were born.. and they ARE gaining power.
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