Everybody has a different path to Enlightenment

[2ndchance]

Everybody has a different path to Enlightenment.

 

We can study from various masters various traditions, we can ditch our fortunes and our families to be ordained as monks or nuns, we can be lay people who practice while working in various occupations.

 

But in the end we all have different individual paths to Enlightenment.

 

If the Buddha or Jesus Christ is reborn again, will they still choose the same path as their previous life-times?

 

Will the Buddha still choose to abandon his wife, his children, his wealth, his empire in search of Enlightenment?

 

The Buddha can always choose Enlightenment and Material Desires at the same time, can't he?

 

Will Jesus Christ still stupidly choose to turn the other cheek when facing the demons of the roman catholic church? 

 

Jesus had a lot of siddhis available to him so I have always wondered why can't he use his siddhis to escape his captors.

Edited January 19, 2019 by 2ndchance

[2ndchance]

Osho keeps using the word "fcuk" a lot.

 

Would he ever go to hell for using the word "fcuk"?

 

You see it is the intent behind the evil acts.

 

Would you shoot Hitler as soon as he was born as a baby to prevent him from his atrocities?

 

So you see, murder isn't always wrong.

[2ndchance]

Murdering Hitler may be known as "Ethical Murder".

 

Otherwise, Prison Executioners may all land in hell for murder.

Edited January 19, 2019 by 2ndchance

[Lost in Translation]

17 hours ago, 2ndchance said:

 

If the Buddha or Jesus Christ is reborn again, will they still choose the same path as their previous life-times?

 

I think not, mainly because the world is not what it once was so neither are those who live in it. That said, how does one translate a life from two thousand years ago to today? Would Buddha write books? Would Jesus found a megachurch? Who knows?!?

[Zen Pig]

18 hours ago, 2ndchance said:

Would you shoot Hitler as soon as he was born as a baby to prevent him from his atrocities?

 

well....... you might, but both you and me, and everyone else right now, would not be here.

What if the titanic did not sink?  once again, you, me, your mom, dad, grandpa. grandma would have never been born.

 

consider how you got to be here, everything had to be just right, mom and dad, had to be in the perfect time, at the exact moment, in the exact place to fuck in the old dodge ram and have you.

 

your dog or cat would not be here.  

 

so shoot Hitler,  and maybe someone else would have been in Germany in the 1930's to lead the world in another path, we cannot imagine. 

 

I for one, love seeing lessons in my life.  Seeing the interconnection to everything,  and stop whining about what could be.  

 

[Fa Xin]

There’s an old Jewish story of God going to bless a child. The angels come to God and say, “Why are you going to bless this child? We have seen through time, to what he will do in the future. He’s going to persecute and slaughter your children. He will do awful things.”  God replies to the angels, “That’s not who he is today. Today he is a child, today he will be blessed. Do not judge him for things he has not yet done.”

[Lost in Translation]

1 hour ago, Fa Xin said:

Today he is a child, today he will be blessed. Do not judge him for things he has not yet done.

 

That's pretty much my sentiments, but let me pose a variant on this hypothetical situation. Imagine there is a child on a field. Surrounding the field there is a fence. If the child touches the fence then a bomb will blow up. Just for drama let's make it a very big bomb - a nuclear bomb. Everyone is telling the child to stay where he is, but the child is scared. He does not understand so he runs towards the fence. The choice is clear: the life of one child or the lives of millions. Do you shoot the child now?

[Fa Xin]

2 hours ago, Lost in Translation said:

 

That's pretty much my sentiments, but let me pose a variant on this hypothetical situation. Imagine there is a child on a field. Surrounding the field there is a fence. If the child touches the fence then a bomb will blow up. Just for drama let's make it a very big bomb - a nuclear bomb. Everyone is telling the child to stay where he is, but the child is scared. He does not understand so he runs towards the fence. The choice is clear: the life of one child or the lives of millions. Do you shoot the child now?

 

I'm just glad I don't have to make a choice like that.  But my answer would have to happen in the moment.  I could not say whether I would or would not, until the very moment that it happens.  I think there's a third way out ... a helicopter maybe  

[sustainablefarm86]

2 hours ago, Lost in Translation said:

That's pretty much my sentiments, but let me pose a variant on this hypothetical situation. Imagine there is a child on a field. Surrounding the field there is a fence. If the child touches the fence then a bomb will blow up. Just for drama let's make it a very big bomb - a nuclear bomb. Everyone is telling the child to stay where he is, but the child is scared. He does not understand so he runs towards the fence. The choice is clear: the life of one child or the lives of millions. Do you shoot the child now?

 

Shoot him. But if that means creating a war that in 1 year will kill billions then it's a hard one

 

but maybe we, as people who abide in the now as good ole meditators ,  should be immediatist and never think about the future?

What matters is saving everyone's asses right now and not later

" Fak the future and fak the past" - buddha 

 

[Zen Pig]

4 hours ago, Lost in Translation said:

That's pretty much my sentiments, but let me pose a variant on this hypothetical situation. Imagine there is a child on a field. Surrounding the field there is a fence. If the child touches the fence then a bomb will blow up. Just for drama let's make it a very big bomb - a nuclear bomb. Everyone is telling the child to stay where he is, but the child is scared. He does not understand so he runs towards the fence. The choice is clear: the life of one child or the lives of millions. Do you shoot the child now?

No offense guys, but this is the medieval argument of "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin"? question.  we can pull shit out of our asses all day long, but in the end, until you or me are up against the wall of "now this shit is going down"  it is all just jerking off.  it might be fun, but it is  not the real thing. LOL 

I remember the first time I got into a real knife fight with a guy that weighed close to 300 pounds,  and had me up against a wall.  all the shit I thought I could do went out the window.   it's kind of like that.  peace.

[Lost in Translation]

2 minutes ago, Zen Pig said:

all the shit I thought I could do went out the window.

 

One could say this about everything. It's all just jerking off until it's not. But if that's so then why bother talking at all?

[Zen Pig]

Just now, Lost in Translation said:

But if that's so then why bother talking at all?

Bingo! yes.  (and I , being human, still get off talking about it, or talking down to it) go figure.  life is grand. 

[Lost in Translation]

Talking, thinking, practicing - are all forms of doing without doing. It's not the real deal, anymore than reading Playboy is sex, but that's not important. It's not supposed to be real. It's supposed to open the mental/emotional/physical channels in preparation for what will be real. It's supposed to clear out that slight hesitation that means the difference between survival and death.

[Zen Pig]

5 minutes ago, Lost in Translation said:

It's supposed to open the mental/emotional/physical channels in preparation for what will be real. It's supposed to clear out that slight hesitation that means the difference between survival and death.

Not disagreeing,  but I kind of got to call shenanigans on this one.

While I also rationalize shit,  I try to be self reflective and call myself if i am making an excuse for just blabbing crap . 

 I have to just own stuff if I see that I am making shit up in order to make my life choice or "karma" (what ever that is), seem fit. 

 

I also, get the hairs on my balls tingling when someone talks about "the difference between survival and death",  which, while it might not be wrong,  seems a bit fear based.  just my two cents. 

[Lost in Translation]

15 minutes ago, Zen Pig said:

I also, get the hairs on my balls tingling when someone talks about "the difference between survival and death"

 

You are welcome! 😝

[Lost in Translation]

19 hours ago, Zen Pig said:

seems a bit fear based

 

I see fear as the opposite of love, which at first is counter intuitive. One would think that hatred is opposite of love, but that's not true, if for no other reason than hatred is a derived emotion - it springs from fear. Love and fear are primary. From love comes courage, faith, endurance, joy. From fear come sadness, depression, envy, jealously, anger and hatred.

 

Knowing this it seems like conquering of fear is most important. I suppose that's true, but what does it mean to conquer fear? Does that mean not fearing? No, I don't think so. Quite the opposite it means loving fear. Loving fear, embracing fear, holding it close as a dear friend.

 

Much better to love fear and to fear love.

[Zen Pig]

2 hours ago, Lost in Translation said:

I see fear as the opposite of love, which at first is counter intuitive. One would think that hatred is opposite of love, but that's not true, if for no other reason than hatred is a derived emotion - it springs from fear. Love and fear are primary. From love comes courage, faith, endurance, joy. From fear come sadness, depression, envy, jealously, anger and hatred.

 

Knowing this it seems like conquering of fear is most important. I suppose that's true, but what does it mean to conquer fear? Does that mean not fearing? No, I don't think so. Quite the opposite it means loving fear. Loving fear, embracing fear, holding it close as a dear friend.

 

Much better to love fear and to fear love.

Very  well said my friend. 

for me, fear is like darkness.  I don't try to conquer darkness, but accept it as part of the dance.  without darkness, (or fear) we would not know light,  or love. 

yes I agree that  fear is one of our greatest self made walls toward not seeing love. after all,  once we embrace fear, (or darkness).   we see that the fear is us, just like the love is us.  it is a balance, 

[Everything]

6 minutes ago, Zen Pig said:

Very  well said my friend. 

for me, fear is like darkness.  I don't try to conquer darkness, but accept it as part of the dance.  without darkness, (or fear) we would not know light,  or love. 

yes I agree that  fear is one of our greatest self made walls toward not seeing love. after all,  once we embrace fear, (or darkness).   we see that the fear is us, just like the love is us.  it is a balance, 

Very well said how well it is said, mister well sayer!

[Stosh]

Rooster Cogburn.

They must have been married men who loved their families, 'cause they scattered and ran for home!