ralis

Thanks for the ad hominem attacks!

I have been judged and found wanting by Master Vajraji. BTW you has better get rid of your computer, if not then you will be part of the cult you just mentioned. ralis

I guess I left that one out. ralis

Guilt and fear enforced? By what means? The military? What are the other means of enforcing guilt and fear? You must be living in the dark ages! 1. Biblical inquisitions? 2. Torture? 3. Forced church attendance? Which god will be in charge of this activity? ralis

Karma and original sin are human primate concepts, that are used as social control mechanisms. Only guilt and fear are the result of believing in these concepts. ralis

In terms of human birth, you state it is an absolute, then when I reminded you that an absolute is universal, you twist the argument in your favor. Is this a brainwashing technique? Sounds like cult behavior to me. ralis

You are confirming what I said in regards to anthropocentric projections. If and only if the human birth is the highest attainment, then one must conclude from your statement that the human birth is the highest in the entire cosmos. That is an absolute anthropocentric view. ralis

Point taken.

When you use the verb (is), you are making a statement in absolute terms. I refer you to General Semantics and Robert Anton Wilson's works. ralis

I never made a statement that the universe was one great mind. Anthropocentric ideology is a projection of human values, morals etc. onto the universe. Then you state, "humans are special.......". Have you studied history in any depth? You continually demonstrate the ability to deal in absolutes. In a world of absolutes, nothing evolves!

It seems to me the Buddhists project an anthropocentric mind onto the universe. Religions have been doing this for millennia. ralis

Vajraji, You are so much fun! My evenings just would not be complete!

Your comment was irrelevant to my earlier comments. In regards to the Joker, the movie and comic books are commenting on an ancient archetype. There are a number of books written that are very interesting. ralis

You seemed to be directing it to me! ralis

Exactly what are you implying with this statement? FYI, it is disassociated, not dissocial. ralis

The problem I have is that karma is defined in a simplistic and religious manner. I think it is not possible to quantify karma and make it an absolute tenet of any philosophical system. This discussion is concerned with karma for the class of all humans. Humans compose a dynamic system. A dynamic system is characterized as one of change. Changes in dynamic systems are extremely complex and depending on the system, are extremely difficult or impossible to quantify. Why? The reasons are due to complex variables that interact. Interaction is non-linear. For simplicity, if one were to observe 1 million variables all interacting with each other, then what specific conclusions can be made? Can one honestly make absolute observations of karmic processes in the dynamic system of all humans? ralis

Thanks for that link. Just to imagine that my fate is in the hands of someone who has more money than god, is not reassuring! ralis

Arranged by who? These arguments with so many opinions, prove there are no absolute answers. ralis

This argument is bogus! Gates has ripped off billions from his crappy software. Anti-trust violations? Yes, the Europeans courts have found MS guilty. Therefor if he gives away lots of money, then is karmic burden is reduced? It is a well known fact that he stole the source code from Apple Computer. Also, just because he gives money away through his charitable foundation, that is good karma? What if he needs the tax breaks and that is a way to benefit? Is that not a selfish endeavor? This deference to the aristocrats that somehow they have better karma than the rest of us is an untenable argument. ralis

There are sweeping generalizations being made here in that all beings are subject to karma. So if I am not aware that karma is playing an absolute role in my life, then what? Should not all beings be warned ahead of time as to the dangers inherent in existence? After all some claim karma offers choices. How does one know what the proper choices are? Good and evil are relative concepts depending on what culture one finds oneself. ralis

Excellent point! I was just accused of seeing the universe in black and white! All I did was make an observation of Buddhist dogma. The whole Buddhist karmic debate reduces to "I create and control my own reality." ralis

I make a statement and I receive a lecture on the Buddhist ideology of karma as a universal absolute. My views are not simplistic. Will you ever stop framing condescending statements? ralis

I have always criticized your arguments in a reasonable manner. Yes, "Let me clarify" is a reasonable place to start. However, if your arguments are continually framed as Tao99 has asserted, then you will be criticized. Especially, when the Buddhist dogma of calling people ignorant and other condescending terms are used. Given the state of human affairs throughout history, and especially now, constructive criticism as opposed to condemnation is necessary. Your persistent chiming of dependent origination as an absolute tenet serves little value in these debates. All you present is a philosophical untenable idea that may or may not have value to your audience. To demonstrate what dependent origination implies and how one can work with that tenet may add more validity to your argument. I am certain it is obvious to most everyone here that all phenomena are related by process. If that were not the case, the universe would not exist. ralis

The proponents of karma argue the point of being born with karma and somehow karma needs to be purified so that one can escape the karmic wheel. Is not this an indictment that humans are all impure and are born into a tainted existence? ralis

Ad hominem attacks? No way! I was criticizing the lack of clarity in your arguments i.e, grammatical syntax. ralis