thebigview.com http://www.thebigview.com/forum Pondering the big questions. en Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:13:13 GMT vBulletin 30 http://www.thebigview.com/forum/images/thebigview/misc/rss.jpg thebigview.com http://www.thebigview.com/forum Where is the Truth? http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4371&goto=newpost Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:10:00 GMT ---Quote (Originally by greg)--- We do not create the truth. We can only reveal the truth. The truth is in each and everyone of us. Great teachers...
Quote:
Originally Posted by greg (Post 95353)
We do not create the truth. We can only reveal the truth. The truth is in each and everyone of us.
Great teachers come and reveal the truth. Buddha was a Great Teacher. He didn’t teach with a book. He revealed a truth in others they revealed that truth in others and they revealed that truth in others and then someone wrote it down and some times the truth was passed to others. But without an example of the truth there is confusion. We call those commentaries. The truth takes a few sentences commentaries are quite lengthly.
Jesus the Christ said I am the way I am the light. Christ is in you the way and the light is in you .
You say they are a Buddha for that level or maybe the next?
Its not over until the fat lady sings.
Greg
I've enjoyed entertaining the idea that every aspect of the Dhamma is already inside of us, that we are not really learning it, but actually remembering it. That's why a lot of it might seem to make sense to someone who goes at it expecting to find meaning, sense in the way that we feel like we've heard it before. I've also toyed with the idea that this applies to the Bible as well, and all religious scripture, for that matter. The idea being that they are essentially the same Truth, just conveyed in a way that is most easily recognized by their particular audience, which might explain why some aspects appear dissimilar when taken with a traditional understanding. I've read in Buddhism about Buddhahood, which is something that exists already in all people, but is just distorted or drowned out by a life of desire, passion, pleasure and attachment. The idea, going further, would seem to be that if we remove those obstacles entirely, the Truth, which is already in us, would be readily available to us in it's pure form, at which point, we've acheived Enlightenment.

There is a scripture from the Bible in Romans 2 that hints at this, but being a Buddhist forum, I will present only this bit I picked up from the Dhammapada, which, to me, mirrors what the Bible says:

Even with little learning, a man who does not neglect the practice of virtue may be considered well-versed in the Dhamma.

That tells me a lot, and so does this:

There is a bit of Pali that every monk, and most people in Thailand, anyway, are familiar with, that goes: Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sama sam buddhasa. (as best as I can phonetically reproduce it from memory). It means, loosely, "Homage to him who attained Enlightenment without the benefit of any instruction." This means that it is regularly accredited to the Buddha that his discovery of Enlightenment was inwardly inspired, not the benefit of the teaching of some Brahman or other ascetic he may have learned from. My own further thoughts on it relate to what I said above, in direct relation to the 4 Noble Truths/8 Fold Path, that by becoming aware of, and clearing away totally our attachments and worldly desires, we are free to see, inwardly, the Truth of our Existence. Thus Enlightenment. It would seem that is how the Buddha went about it, freeing himself of suffering and finding the Dhamma sitting there, pristine and perfect, after he cleared away the wreckage. To our advantage, the Dhamma that he conveyed, offers us a shortcut towards realizing that Truth (nudging our hidden knowledge to the surface), much in the way the Gospels could be perceived as a shortcut to having a relationship with God, when compared with a purely Old Testament view. Buddha and Jesus just made easier what we already had it within ourselves to accomplish.

I could be wrong. This is all just based on speculation, but it's a topic I enjoy. I have a fantasy that the further I go towards understanding the Truth, the closer I get to unlocking that elusive reservoir of innate Truth, hidden somewhere deep in the unused nether regions of my brain (or unlocking the hidden door that links me to a spirit that binds all existence, which, alternatively, might be where that Truth resides, who knows?). ]]> Buddhism ilikebuddha http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4371 Women and Buddhism http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4369&goto=newpost Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:52:01 GMT Since we have been talking about suffering and rebirth and karma, I thought about the many women who work as prostitutes in Thailand, and how they... Since we have been talking about suffering and rebirth and karma, I thought about the many women who work as prostitutes in Thailand, and how they are thought of in Buddhism. I happened across the following write-up in Wikipedia, and wonder what the Buddhists here think of it. I have over 25 years experience of living in Thailand, and in my opinion this is an accurate description of the situation:

Quote:
In Buddhism, the predominant religion in Thailand, women are viewed as naturally inferior to men. Buddha made clear to his disciples that women were “impure, carnal, and corrupting.” This is also evidenced by the belief that women cannot attain enlightenment, although this view is disputed by other Buddhist scriptures such as the Vinaya Pitaka in the Pali Canon. In addition, the type of Buddhism practiced in Thailand outlines ten kinds of wives in its vihaya, or rules for monks. Within these rules, the first three are actually women who can be paid for their services. In present day Thailand, this has manifested itself into an acceptance by wives about prostitution. Sex with prostitutes is viewed by wives as empty sex, and thus many women would rather have their husbands have meaningless sex with a young girl rather than find a new spouse.
Buddhism also prescribes “acceptance and resignation in the face of life’s pain and suffering", in accordance with belief in karma and expiation of sins from previous lives. As a result, many young girls that enter prostitution remain there in the belief that it is a direct result of sins from previous lives and suffering as prostitutes is their karma.


The link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Thailand

 ]]> Buddhism schrodinger http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4369 Free will versus determinism http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4366&goto=newpost Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:51:14 GMT Is anyone interested in discussing this topic? Even though it is an old debate, I don't believe there is nothing left to uncover. I hope there are people who would like to share their views. ]]> Philosophy halo http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4366 Root Your Love in Being http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4364&goto=newpost Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:40:37 GMT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsI1aioXNuA In this video, Osho talks about emotion overwhelming us in life. What do YOU think? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsI1aioXNuA

In this video, Osho talks about emotion overwhelming us in life. What do YOU think? ]]> Religion Molly Brogan http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4364 Realization causes you to change levels. http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4333&goto=newpost Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:06:35 GMT Realization causes you to change levels and with that there is a lot of confusion. Understanding takes longer and is slower for that reason. Then ... Realization causes you to change levels and with that there is a lot of confusion. Understanding takes longer and is slower for that reason. Then life gives you another realization and you change levels again. These realizations usually come with suffering. But would the realization come if there were no suffering? I think the answer is yes they would. Because suffering is just one of our responses to what is happening in the world. Does suffering slow our growth? ]]> Buddhism greg http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4333 <![CDATA[How "True" are the "Four Noble Truths"?]]> http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4332&goto=newpost Sat, 17 Jul 2010 22:33:58 GMT Lets take it from the top:

1. Life Means Suffering

Can a brush stroke that broad be allowed? No one will deny that "suffering" is to a degree part of life. But the generalization is definitely invalid. Life is far more than suffering. And who's life are we talking about?

Does life mean suffering to all or just to some? My life doesn't mean suffering to me and I'm quite sure that there are many others who, like me, don't "suffer" through life.

So who's to say what a life means other than the one who lives it? The attempt to define the meaning of life for each and every sentient living being is more of a sign for arrogance than wisdom. ]]> Buddhism abaris http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4332 Hello all http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4331&goto=newpost Sat, 17 Jul 2010 14:38:08 GMT Hi

I hope I am,and am being, correct in making this post,in this thread.
Not sure how I stumbled upon this site "thebigview," but happy to have done so. Actually it was the religious section I came across first,and some posts and comments relating rebellion with enlightenment with martyrdom et al.
(I wished to reply but found I had to register first,ergo,here I am)
(lol,does this make me a rebel or a conformist? Enlightened or ignorant?)
Anyway,I am a 48yo married with 4 children,born in Asia,raised in UK,and living in Paris France for 25 odd years. A committed christian,but not a committed church goer,with an open enquiring mind.
I look forward to talking and debating with like (and not so like) minded people .

Love ]]> Welcome Timothy http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4331 <![CDATA[Joseph Campbell's Labyrinth of Life]]> http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4330&goto=newpost Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:41:37 GMT There is a pattern in life that goes like this: if we are confronted with a problem, want to know ourselves, or are looking for particular meaning... There is a pattern in life that goes like this: if we are confronted with a problem, want to know ourselves, or are looking for particular meaning in life – and we take this into the contemplative space, hold the question in our mind, dwell on it before sleep each night – however we ask and continue to ask in silence - the answers to our questions will eventually come to us. This pattern is age old, found in ancient texts such as the bible “ask and ye shall receive, knock and the door shall be opened to you,” Luke 11:9

"We have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us - the labyrinth is thoroughly known. We have only to follow the thread of the hero path, and where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god; where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves; where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence. And where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world." Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces

I find these answers can come from anywhere, and often the most unexpected places: a spam email, a Facebook post, a passing remark from a stranger, and intimate disclosure from a loved one. Whatever the source, the act of recognizing the answers we are given is recognition of enduring fulfillment. We are recognizing spirit in action, energy in motion, Divine Action. It can all occur in silence within us, or be expressed in creativity, but it is always the realization of the inner you. And in this kind of heroic discovery you find that this inner you in fact is what governs your outer you.

What do YOU think? ]]> Religion Molly Brogan http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4330 Mark Forums Read = Red? http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4329&goto=newpost Fri, 09 Jul 2010 06:04:05 GMT How come when I click on "Mark Forums Read" nothing changes; the forums with new posts still show up in red font. Before the red would go away, now it doesn't. Should that read "Mark Forums Read, Red"?:)

Maybe it is just my PC? Anybody else see the same thing? ]]> Help Desk schrodinger http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4329 The Illusion of Karma http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4328&goto=newpost Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:46:48 GMT Causality is not just an element in Buddhist thought, it is the foundation of its teachings, without which there could be no teaching. There seems to... Causality is not just an element in Buddhist thought, it is the foundation of its teachings, without which there could be no teaching. There seems to be some confusion and delusion as to what karma means and what it implies when embraced.

Quite simply, karma is a teaching that tells us that the quality of our lives is strictly determined by our behavior in this and previous lives. Albeit that others influence us apart from our current state, karma teaches that since actions of the past are not always discernable, then the people around us are merely expressions of that past. In other words, they would not be around us in the first place were it not for that expression.

Time, as viewed by most, exists as a medium of causal exchange. Events occur based on causes which in of themselves lead to other causes. Just because our future remains primarily indeterminable to us dose not entail that it is indeterminable with time. Thus, if the clock of time were somehow reversed to yesterday apart from influence, then the events of that day would unfold exactly as they did before. This however is a grossly distorted view of reality.

If we embrace karma as being an absolute truth, then we are left with two options when it comes to our past lives. There was either a beginning in which there was no previous life, or it continues back in infinite cycles.

Ad in indium is a troublesome position to take when you embrace causality as an absolute truth. Causality is a progressive concept that involves explicit connections with effects that exist and the causes that bring rise to them. Nothing manifests apart from karma if karma is to remain valid, otherwise events would become inherently unassociated with the individual, undermining the very foundation of the Buddhist teaching - the twelve-linked chain of causation.

Moreover, events must remain intimately connected with the whole of reality that brought rise to them if they are to remain qualified as being karmic expressions. This means that events must unfold proportionally in relation of each life that had existed if they are to be used as valid examples as to why we suffer.

Plugging these mandates within ad indium creates a catastrophic implosion of the idea of karma. There are things that exist because they can, and then there are things that don’t exist because they can’t. When things don’t exist even though they once did, then we discover the ideology behind probabilities.

Everything that exists has an obvious probability factor that is above zero. Even things we qualify as being unique or unrepeatable still maintain that probability factor under various scientific orders such as string theory or parallel worlds theory.

Apart from these theories it should be noted that logic dictates that anything that has a zero potential of ever existing can never truly exist. Although our knowledge of what is possible and not changes over time, it only affords us the potential possibility rather than no potential at all.

How many different expressions can our life manifest as we move from lifetime after lifetime? In short, how many unique lives are there before we repeat one? Can we repeat a life, relive it exactly as we lived it before? If karma is to be a real truth then the answer has to be in the negative. It would be causally impossible for us to relive a previous life exactly as it was lived before. Why? Because we cannot loop causality and maintain its validity.

When time loops onto itself it leads us to the very beginning. Speaking of catastrophic implosions would be an understatement. Time would literally collapse if this were at all possible. In my lecture on Inherent Potential Nullification, I showed that if there was any potential of arriving at zero by counting upwards, then the idea that we are above zero at all can never be valid.

Karma limits us with the kind of lives we can live, as such we are left with the systematic elimination of all possible life expressions. If you embrace an infinite regression of life cycles, then you cannot possible exist today because all your possible lives had already been lived in the infinite past. Since we are obviously alive today and moving about, the concept of karma is but an illusion.

I will rest this topic for now to allow for questions before continuing.


-Malinson ]]> Buddhism Malinson http://www.thebigview.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4328