Sunya

From the wiki of the dead sea scrolls: Christian Origin Theory While there are certainly some common characteristics shared between different Jewish sectarian groups, most scholars deny that there is any connection between the Christians and the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls. There is little to suggest that the Christians at this time were as secluded or as interested in elaborate rituals of purity and chastity as the community that produced the Scrolls. Still, Spanish Jesuit Josep O'Callaghan-Martínez has argued that one fragment (7Q5) preserves a portion of text from the New Testament Gospel of Mark 6:52-53.[28] In recent years, Robert Eisenman has advanced the theory that some scrolls actually describe the early Christian community. Eisenman also attempted to relate the career of James the Just and the Apostle Paul / Saul of Tarsus to some of these documents.[29] This remains speculative and is rejected by an overwhelming majority of scholars studying Judaism in the early Roman period. As for any Gnostic texts in the Nag Hammadi, I'm not aware of any that can be dated prior to 2nd century AD.

yes indeed! What nuances are you referring to? I've yet to really let it all sink in, so I'm not sure what I disagree with. It's very very plausible that with technological innovation, labor and scarcity of resources won't be a necessity anymore, but whether or not all crime is caused by the monetary system is not something I'm sure of. I'm sure greed won't be a problem and the crimes associated with that, but I'm sure we'll still have other psychological issues to deal with. But still, this system is way better than the one we have now.

Wow, Zeitgeist Addendum is AWESOME. So well worth watching. I'm going to make my family and friends watch this. It really points out the inherent problems in the system, but also gives solutions and paints a really nice picture of the future of humanity in the latter half of the movie. I highly recommend everyone to watch it. You can see it for free at http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

I was thinking that too. This project (proyect?) looks quite promising but doesn't seem very sustainable for a global population of 7 billion and counting. This would work in much smaller communities. Plus there's just too much at stake, and those at the top who have everything to lose don't want the status quo disrupted. How do you know something will happen in the next 10 years?

Awesome! Are you feeling qi while you stand? Do you just naturally let the qi move or do you mindfully breathe in and dissolve blockages? And, have your health issues improved?

Sorry, but what are you talking about? What sources? In the authors PDF, he lists many sources. Proved to be bullshit by who? Where?

Have you guys seen the movie Zeitgeist? I'm watching it now and it's really interesting! The beginning talks about the astrological symbols in the Bible.. why the cross is used as a symbol, the 3 days resurrection, why dec 25th, and the connection to Horus and other cultural depictions of the sun. Really worth watching!

communism meets the 21st century. I'm idealistic so I'm open to it working, but there are problems. first, most people are too greedy to share with everybody else. there would have to be a reconditioning, and probably most effectively a whole new generation. our current society teaches from the onset of childhood that consuming, buying, is the way to happiness. another problem is motivation for work. now I'm of a humanist persuasion (see Maslow's heriarchy), so I do think that once basic needs are met people will seek self-actualization but I don't know if everybody will, even Maslow said not everyone will, but such a project would take care of the physiological and safety needs. people will have to take care of belongingness and self-esteem needs on their own. it might be an interesting project just to see what would happen. Nevermind. Since this is a non-monetary system it's not communist. It's more tribal actually. I dig it. The essay is well worth reading since it focuses on the main ideas http://www.thevenusproject.com/a-new-social-design/essay

Me neither That view is the 'Hinayana' view which is used in Theravada schools because they are all about cutting attachment to this world. But the Tantric view (and Dzogchen as well) views the body as sacred. It is a perfect vessel for enlightenment and has been earned for lifetimes of good karma accumulation. We should honor this body, take care of it, because it is the perfect vessel for us to become enlightened. So, I'm not really sure where you got the idea that you should forsake health for spiritual enlightenment.

There is a logic to why, and it takes a while to explain. Buddhist logic is the complete negation and deconstruction of all concepts. This is not done through the belief in something but rather the negation of everything, with nothing left to stand on and nothing to cling to. If somebody has this realization without reading Buddhist texts, then that doesn't mean that aren't enlightened. It just means that they are very special. I don't doubt that it can happen. The Buddha figured it out on his own. For many and most, studying the logic is a very good idea. There's lot of false views out there, and having a false view can prohibit one from attaining a deeper realization. This is because there will be a very subtle clinging or attachment to some idea which isn't actually true. If someone is very honest and brutally serious, then I do think that they can move beyond that limitation, but many do seem to stop and think that their realization is final and don't really question it. Buddhism does give a validity to realization because you get tested by teachers and can test yourself by studying the text. At the same time, Buddha taught us to be non-dogmatic and question everything, to never accept something merely by believing it or because someone of authority said it. Your experience is the ultimate verifier. Unfortunately Wilber, and not to keep picking on him, has not been very honest with himself. He claims to be an intellectual samurai or whatever, has studied with many different Buddhist teachers, and he still fails to understand what emptiness means. This I find strange. I don't think I'm very smart, and I got it within a couple of years of study. I think anyone can get it if they are honest and sincere. So, about Wilber... I don't know. I think he does a lot of good with his books and all that, but I really wish he didn't misrepresent the Buddhist teachings and lead people into a false view. It can be very difficult to get out of that.

Thanks for typing all of that it. It was really interesting to read.

What difference does meeting someone face to face make? They need to explain their realization, and if you know the path well then you are able to judge. Imagine you're a mystical Christian, and you see God everywhere. So there's no separation between God, Jesus, creation, and you. Everything is God, okay? Now you meet somebody on the internet or face to face or whatever, and he tells you his realization. His realization is that Jesus is the literal son of God. He died for our sins, and there will soon be an apocalypse and you better get ready to be judged. So, you'd be able to judge his realization quite quickly right? It's no secret. People speak quite plainly about their realizations, and language is a pretty good indicator of that. In the same regard, Wilber talks about 'emptiness' as a formless ground of being, but according to the Buddhist tradition that is actually a subtle delusional attachment to a source, and the clearer realization is that there is no source. So, it's just like how the mystical Christian has a more refined realization than the literal Bible thumping Christian. But, the only way you can understand that it's a clearer realization is to understand it yourself. You don't need an experience of emptiness to understand it logically. You can understand this distinction through logically analyzing the position (or lack of a position) of emptiness. And actually, you need that logical understanding before you can even have the actual experience. So it's quite necessary.

It is true that direct insight and realization is the most important and nothing else compares. At the same time it's also true that if you know the goal really well through logic, then it is possible to know someone else's realization based upon how they explain it. Explanations are not just fingers pointing to the moon, as people love to say, but rather each explanation points to a different moon... or rather each finger is a reflection of a different moon. If you know the reflection, then you know the moon pretty well already and are quite close to realizing it, and it is thus possible to know if someone else has realized the same moon by the finger they point with.

Evidence for what? For the existence of Jesus? Quran was written 600 years after Jesus supposedly lived.

Thanks! very interesting

Both Wilber and Cohen are not enlightened in the Buddhist sense and are hardly ones to judge whether or not Buddha was enlightened I've read a lot of Wilber and had momentary fascinations with his "genius" but truly I can say that Wilber doesn't understand emptiness. His definition is flawed, and that's because he practiced Hinduism for a long time. I know he took up Tibetan practices, but he always did it in the context of a Hindu view and never actually realized what the Buddha truly taught. Nagarjuna, when he taught that emptiness is form, was only building upon what the Buddha taught. Buddha taught no-self and dependent origination, which is the same as the Mahayana emptiness. No different.

Didn't know we had all these seminary boys in town! What do you guys think about the missing years during Jesus's life? Do you think he could've gone over to India? Well maybe I should first ask do you think that Jesus as a person actually existed? If none of the texts can be verified and they are the only proof of his life, then his very existence could be doubted, right? If that's the case, then perhaps by logical necessity he had to have existed because how could such a movement begin without a real figure?

TaoBums is better.

Is Shipman, VA close to you? There's a Bon center over there, and the teacher is quite wonderful. I've read his books and have been practicing from them. Bon is a Tibetan path, but it's quite similar to Taoism. It works with the elements, focuses on the subtle energies and purifying them, and the higher teachings have to do with nonduality of mind. It's well worth looking into. The teacher, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, has excellent English and explains everything quite well. They also have a retreat center in VA I think too.

dawg, very interesting posts, thanks. Just curious, how are you affording to live in Thailand at a monastery for such a long time? Do you have a large savings and no debts at home? I'd love to do that. I'm happy for you that you've created such wonderful conditions for yourself to practice.

To be fair, Jesus taught a peaceful message. What was done in his name during the last two millenia had nothing to do with his teachings at all. Boys will be boys. What would I change? I don't know. It's hard to say because what if what I change actually makes things worse? I'm not omniscient. I could say Hitler never be born! But then perhaps because of Hitler it inspired a lot of compassion in people once they saw just how bad humanity can get. As long as we keep the memory of the Holocaust alive, another one will not happen. That's just an example. BTW Darfur doesn't count. But, if I could actually make a choice I would certainly change history by putting a stop to the rise of Islam. I can't think of any benefit to the spread of that religion at all.

Wonderful sharing energy with you.. and George Winston is amazing thanks for that. His music is definitely coming from a very sacred and awakened space

And has that worked for you?