Apech

Done. Your log in and password are as before.

You could ask a friend ....

I would move it to General Discussion because it is not Taoist Discussion.

Did you mean to put this in Taoist discussion? cos it doesn't seem to have anything Taoist about it ... so I could move it if you would like.

Speak for your self! (Ha ha)

I took this from Aaron's post because it sums up exactly what I have been taught by Buddhists about karma. LOL. I don't know where people get their experience of dharma from but it seems to me there's a lot of nonsense out there. Ah well we should all work it out fro ourselves of course ... jolly good show and all that.

I am not a self elected defend-the dharma man ... but I will try. Even techniques have some kind of conceptual framework in order to function. Idea and concepts are as much part of reality as things or energy etc. so are totally legitimate and part of the spectrum of (human) consciousness. Buddhism has a 'view' which is encapsulated in Buddhist philosophy. In the Mahayana this is based on emptiness, form as emptiness and emptiness is form and so on. Enlightenment and Buddha activity are non-conceptual however Buddhism as a path uses many concepts to get to this awakening. The first Noble Truth that existence involves suffering is not based on authority in the sense that it is so because the Buddha says it is so ... but as the story of the Buddha's life illustrates is based on the observation that people do suffer. Suffer does not necessarily mean to be in pain but may just mean 'subject to conditionality' ... the main thrust of the dharma is that this suffering is unnecessary and that you can find happiness instead. I wouldn't dream of telling any little bird anything ... my cat might take the opportunity for supper of course. Do not presume to know what I have done or not done. I am not for a minute suggesting you should become a Buddhist ... its up to you ... but it might help if you understood something about it first. Buddha was not a philosopher and not a pessimist.

Please get some professional help before the end.

Does this include people who say Buddhism is spiritual suicide? ...and where is your centre in Manchester ... I used to live there and still have family there abouts.

Yes it is ... but don't let it put you off.

Had to watch Aljazeera to find an intelligent debate about 3rd party candidates.

*** Moderation Message *** Ok you are all on a warning. No more bickering or you said/I said posts. Stay on topic please or there will be suspensions. Thank you. *** Mod Message ends ***

Just read the thread. That shugdendo film looks great. Never heard of it before. Stay calm everybody. Don't want to have to move any of this to the pit.

What are errors and what are not errors. Or perhaps I should say even the errors signify a form of truth.

iPad ... Kindle ... you technogod!!!! ... and me typing on an abacus.

Does it? Any chance of explaining why?

Sent Sean a message.

Ah ok mea culpa ... it seems that all the new ppfs from water Pig onwards have admin as mod and I can't change it. So you are right but I have no idea why this has happened. I shall ask sean.

Hmmm maybe the new format board doesn't work in the same way as before ... I'll have another look.

Well I don't agree ... but hey! each to his own.

Test it to see if it is self-consistent. Truth is self-consistent.

I confess to some Buddhist affiliations ... (this is like Buddhaholics Anonymous ha ha) ... Actually I think its important to not give a damn what anyone else does ... if you see what I mean. I studied for years under a Christian Hermetic teacher but every time he mentioned God or Jesus I had to translate it to myself into something I could assimiliate ... this taught me that the real truth is 'to the person' ... or maybe a truth is a truth that you capture for yourself ... or something. In other words even though I had real problems with the terms he used I somehow had great confidence in him as a person ... so I did the work to try the 'get' what he was saying to me. I've also spent a long time working on Ancient Egyptian Texts directly using the original hieroglyphs with no living teachers (I know there are some who claim but they make simple mistakes so I have no confidence in them) and this has made me work everything out for myself. So even if I study something like buddhist text I always pull it apart and put it back together in terms that I understand. The other thing is (and every good teacher I've ever had has said this) if you hear a good idea you must immediately hammer it to destruction ... if it stands up to your testing and analysis then you can keep it for yourself. In the end ... I think ... whatever system you follow mysticism is a solo task ... you are alone and that is how you must work. What Plotinus called the 'flight of the alone to the Alone'.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9597345/Afterlife-exists-says-top-brain-surgeon.html just thought it was interesting.

Well its interesting to me how many people on here seem to hate Buddhism. I can only assume people have had bad experiences with it ... and I would agree there's a lot of 'bad' Buddhism taught ... partly for commercial reasons but also because of cultural misunderstandings. I'm a bit agog at some of things being said though such as Aaron's "when in fact there is NOTHING wrong with anyone, except what they perceive to be wrong, and those perceptions are not real, only misunderstood." ... which is exactly the message of buddha-nature ... I think perhaps many Buddhists themselves don't get these simple points which is a shame. I think it kind of brings us back to the main point of this thread which to me is a question ... why does Eastern spirituality make people try to suppress their own individuality? It is clearly a mistake and the core messages of those systems (I would uphold) do not actually say that you should do this. Why do people like to dress in rags and knitted hats and eat one grain of rice a day ... when the 'master' is driving a Rolls Royce??? Its wrong. OK we all go through stages, dark nights and so on, when we get a desperate about ourselves and perhaps the way we have behaved in the past, but the general process of spiritual development is one of becoming more and more open, more responsive, more spontaneous ... and actually more your self ... in the sense of a naturally happy and creative being. All I can say is avoid the circus, keep a careful eye on those around you, and just practice, practice, practice. Just some thoughts.

Yes .... That's the Theravadan view ... not the one I hold or understand. I favour the non-dualism of Nagarjuna and so on but the Theravedans would say that is a fiction and not what the Buddha taught. Like all things its up to people to make up their minds. Back on topic ... I would say this is important that people maintain their own critical faculties and failure to do this could be spiritual suicide I guess. Each to his own.