Apech

BUT he wasn't turtle in those days he was .... shhhhh he has a secret name!

Ah to sit in a peaceful flowery garden and not have to worry about the meaning of whatever it was ... I've forgotten .... wake me up when you bring the green tea round there's a good chap.

@OP That's a very interesting observation. It might explain the marked difference in how the dharma seems to develop in westerners compared to easterners. It is really easy to see how happy, friendly and open the Tibetans and others are compared with the rather withdrawn, worried and self negating westerners.

There's more and more of this kind of thing going on specially in US and UK.

I think that in 'improving' your concepts as expressed is the point of the whole thing. Beliefs are a way of expressing understanding but should not be clung on to if challenged. If they fall apart under challenge then they are not worth much anyway.

Karma means action. So really what they are talking about is action and results. So if you understand that nothing happens in a vacuum then its easy to accept that whatever you do has an effect. This is a good rule for governing your ethical decisions. So you can see that it matters whether you make positive decisions and not negative ones. But it doesn't matter because some god sitting on high says it matters ... which I think is a false kind fo morality ... it matters because of the outcome or possible outcomes. Its true that the effect is not usually or always immediate. For the result to arise the right conditions need to exists, just like if you plant a seed you don't get a plant straight away you have to wait for rain, sunlight, the right temperature and conditions for the seed to mature. So the result may not immediately affect you but the idea is that sooner or later there will be some result and to bear this in mind when making decisions. Buddhists do not believe in reincarnation as such ... but in rebirth .... this is slightly different in that they would say that what continues after death is a mind stream ... that is some continuation in energy/consciousness and not an eternal soul. The thought that there is some kind of continuation after death is practically universal, even Neanderthal man left grave goods suggesting they thought that there was an afterlife. This doesn't mean its true of course ... but does mean it is natural for mankind to think it so.

If you recognise this man ... well you've some explaining to do!

I checked your settings and they seem right. Something is screwed that's for sure. Gat to be a Sean level thing.

is desire ever realistic?

You think that the afterlife will be whatever you believe it to be and yet if you achieve your aim you will have no beliefs .. so what then? What is this God that you believe in? existing outside of everyone else's belief? What is that? Why do you believe in it? Redefine be-lief as 'love to be' ... e.g. I love to be free = I believe in freedom. You posit something of value (a state of freedom) for yourself which you feel you do not already have ... you work towards it ... this is belief. Perhaps you believe you can understand your self or life itself ... you work towards understanding = you believe in understanding ... and so on.

You can be mum, GP. Tips. Can I have a biscuit ... oh go on!

I love science too ... and I enjoy watching/listening to cutting edge physicists talk about their work. But I still come away with the conclusion that although science portrays itself as pure empiricism ... as if it is genuinely open enquiry ... all scientists carry a paradigm of an objective reality which can be put on the workbench (so to speak) dissected and understood which does not properly include consciousness (substitute word of choice) in the equation.

Did you do this and did it work?

Just in case anyone (including Aaron) actually reads this post let me say this: I moved that thread by Lao Tzu to the Pit because it contained what Seth has called a defamatory statement. It is against the rules on here to make ad hominem attacks on anyone, anyone at all ... everyone knows that really cos we've been here so many times before. That includes imputing a motivation on what they do without proof or substantiation of any kind. I am not a student of Mr. Lomax and I have never met him. Also I have no idea if his qi gong or healing actually works. And, in terms of moderation I don't actually care. If I were to Pit everything I thought didn't work or was bogus or perhaps not fully understood then the Pit would be more or less full and general Dis. would be more or less empty. I have never arbitrated over what is valid and what is not, its not my role to do this. I have no favourites in terms of moderation. OK?

For notifications >>> click on your name top right Choose >>>>My settings Look down list on left hand side. for notification options >>> click it Click various buttons for what you want i.e. email of notifications.

Try a night on the tiles with the Windows Eight.

Was he a Taoist???? Your opinions please.

Were you not aware of these facts?

What's past is past and I think we should all do our best to forgive if not forget. And I mean that Tom Jones video not WWII.

Ubuntu listens to Bebop, drinks rum and has dreadlocks. He wears shades at night and does his own thang. Obviously he can play a mean tenor sax.

Ah! I think I retired him early. Oh well I was just thinking of the green green grass of home.

Will they be frolicking in the field like young lambs??

Seems obvious that people mean different things when they use the term 'self'. hence the need for debates like this.

I think like elvis he died on the toilet because he'd set all the paper on fire ... that might be a clue.