mat black Posted April 13, 2008 "Life is short and the time of death is uncertain; so apply yourself to meditation. Avoid doing evil, and acquire merit, to the best of your ability, even at the cost of life itself. In short: Act so that you have no cause to be ashamed of yourselves and hold fast to this rule" Milarepa Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mat black Posted May 19, 2008 (edited) Edited May 19, 2008 by mat black Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jedi777 Posted May 19, 2008 threads like this keep me coming back! Thanks for this!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pero Posted May 19, 2008 The irony here is that you concluded those things from something a Buddhist Lama said. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pero Posted May 19, 2008 True but some people believe Jesus Christ is the son of god! I often, although not always, give credit where credit is due and I never stated that I took the Lama's answers as gospel/dharma. The lama gave me his opinion and after a period of thinking I tend to agree with him. You misunderstood me, I found it ironic because your conclusions are not something Buddhists would agree with. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pero Posted May 19, 2008 There is nothing there about your personality being reborn. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick Brown Posted May 19, 2008 There is nothing there about your personality being reborn. No but basically that's want reappears/reincarnates some Buddhist texts, probably the ones translated by westerners, have used the term personality. So we die but we don't, think of the personality as a piece of music that is you and when dressed in a new body it/you can change adapt and perfect the tune! The stream of conciousness is never broken. I mentioned Echo and Narcissus on another thread and the story is very interesting especially when you realise that it's been twisted. In the real, secret/esoteric version of Echo and Narcissus the two lovers spend eternity together. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pero Posted May 19, 2008 No but basically that's want reappears/reincarnates some Buddhist texts, probably the ones translated by westerners, have used the term personality. It's a bad translation then. In any case, Buddha did not say what is reborn, he dismissed it as a wrong question. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mat black Posted May 19, 2008 (edited) To encourage each other i think is a great thing. threads like this keep me coming back! Thanks for this!!! Thank YOU Edited May 19, 2008 by mat black Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
林愛偉 Posted May 19, 2008 Nothing gets reborn. Thoughts form from emptiness, emptiness give thoughts their form. Consciousness is still a thought. Nothing moves from one to another body. It is simply thoughts of duality and their outcomes and causes appearing and falling in the same exact place they appeared and fell...in the mind. The mind is not local, it is not directional. It is that we have thoughts that conclude, and we have thoughts that have the outcome of believing; thus we believe there is a soul reborn. When there is talk of rebirth in Buddhism, it points to the conditions in the mind taking an illusory form. The body, the tree, the rock, the table, the lamp. Thoughts that discriminate cause thoughts that separate, and thus thoughts like "We, they, it, him, her...etc" arise. An eternal consciousness is still a thought, therefore it is subject to causes and conditions. It isn't eternal. It is known in many Buddhist corners through research of Tibetan Lama Tradition that the Sutras are tampered with to fit to the ideals and lifestyles of a Lama. I wish I had those Sutras, but I received that information from an Ex-Tibetan Lamaist. Peace and Blessings, Lin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
voidisyinyang Posted May 20, 2008 Yeah I spent the day reading an amazing book: CIVILIZED SHAMANS: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies by Geoffrey Samuel (Smithsonian Institute Press, 1993). It's a real tome-- about 700 pages! He's a Professor in England. Anyway it's a REAL detailed, well-researched analysis. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pero Posted May 20, 2008 It is known in many Buddhist corners through research of Tibetan Lama Tradition that the Sutras are tampered with to fit to the ideals and lifestyles of a Lama. I wish I had those Sutras, but I received that information from an Ex-Tibetan Lamaist. Funny you say that, because until now, nobody even mentioned Tibetan Buddhism. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
林愛偉 Posted May 20, 2008 Funny you say that, because until now, nobody even mentioned Tibetan Buddhism. Maybe I am wrong, but isn't the title "Lama" specific to Tibetan Tradition? Someone mentioned Lama...Lama Lama Lama... reminds me of the Llama Song..somewhere floating on the net. Peace and Blessings, Lin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
林愛偉 Posted May 20, 2008 I am not saying that after death that's it...lol I don't advocate annihilation. The mind is filled with itself, and all things arise from the mind itself. As does forms both physical and non-physical; emotions, desires, etc. Of the same mind, with different characteristics... Original nature is the same, but our conditional nature is different in characteristics. Peace and Blessings, Lin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mat black Posted May 20, 2008 (edited) Original nature is the same, but our conditional nature is different in characteristics. Is this where capital leters can be of use? eg: original nature = non dual Mind (big 'M') ; conditional nature = dualistic mind (small 'm'). Huge difference, between them, and yet the differnce is only due to discriminating mind ala (small 'm' ) Edited May 20, 2008 by mat black Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
林愛偉 Posted May 20, 2008 Is this where capital leters can be of use? eg: original nature = non dual Mind (big 'M') ; conditional nature = dualistic mind (small 'm'). Huge difference, between them, and yet the differnce is only due to discriminating mind ala (small 'm' ) Big m small m, still the mind, only one mind, discriminating...lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites