What to believe - Page 3

morethanpretty · 02-24-2010, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yznhymr

Do you have faith your fat ass wont fall to the floor when you sit in a chair? Then start there...oh, Buddha had a fat ass and he only sits on the ground.

nope, i have previous experience that it will not. called observation and evidence. not faith.

Happy Monkey · 02-24-2010, 04:51 PM

Plus, if a chair does collapse, there's no faith pushing me to insist that it didn't. And the new evidence may aid in recognizing other chairs that may not be stable.

morethanpretty · 02-28-2010, 11:57 AM

This is a bit of thread drift...
I had a dream last night that my mom was holding me under the water and hitting my back so that I could not hold in air. She wasn't trying to drown me, she was insisting that if I just "believed" that I could breath, that I could. She was telling me to lie to myself, that I can trick my mind into believing I can breath underwater if I just kept lying to myself and telling me that I could. Then I would actually be able to breath.

I'm mentioning this because that is how I feel about faith. People are just lying to themselves that something is true for so long that they believe it. Doesn't actually make it true.

xoxoxoBruce · 02-28-2010, 06:09 PM

And your nightmares doesn't make it untrue.

Happy Monkey · 03-01-2010, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morethanpretty

I'm mentioning this because that is how I feel about faith. People are just lying to themselves that something is true for so long that they believe it. Doesn't actually make it true.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Twain

Faith is believing what you know ain't so.

Pie · 03-01-2010, 03:09 PM

My father kept a copy of "The God Delusion" next to his hospital bed during his transplant. It kept the chaplain away.

squirell nutkin · 03-03-2010, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yznhymr

Do you have faith your fat ass wont fall to the floor when you sit in a chair? Then start there...oh, Buddha had a fat ass and he only sits on the ground.

Not sure of the connection there, but Buddhism isn't about faith as much as it is about personal verification. See for yourself if your fat ass falls to the ground or if the chair supports it. Don't take my word for it, my word is useless. You need to know for yourself.

03-04-2010, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad

The Buddha promotes critical thinking:

regardless of this quotation, Buddhism is not a belief that hinges upon rationality or reason or empiricism at all. Notice in the last few lines how the basis of one's actions becomes dependent upon whether or not that action is good or not? This is no longer a basis on reason alone, but now it encompasses emotions and feelings of the good....which leads us back to our original problem of which the quote attempts but fails to find a solution: how should I act to maximize my potential and good?

xoxoxoBruce · 03-04-2010, 01:37 PM

Quote:

...that agrees with reason AND is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all...

Two subjective decisions, eh?

squirell nutkin · 03-06-2010, 08:51 AM

There are people who spend their entire lives contemplating and practicing and meditating and studying this and other religions. I doubt there is much value in forming an opinion based on reading a short, possibly poorly translated, supposedly quoted paragraph in an online forum where you are logged out if you touch the monkey.

All of our informed opinions, together based on a hour (I'm making a highly generous guess) spent considering this passage against millions of monks and lay people practicing this religion for 2500 years seem to be slightly wanting.

And the passage quoted is not the definition of Buddhism.

squirell nutkin · 03-06-2010, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crotalushorridus

leads us back to our original problem of which the quote attempts but fails to find a solution: how should I act to maximize my potential and good?

The problem with that question is that there is never a single answer that is right in every single case. In fact, depending on circumstances, two different cases may require entirely opposite solutions.

Read up on "The Five Ranks of Master Tozan" where this is discussed at length.

monster · 03-09-2010, 09:40 PM

If you are late because you were doing a good deed, the traffic lights will turn green as you approach.

That is what to believe.

If it was a selfless good deed, the hobo might not step out in front of you as you accelerate.

Yznhymr · 03-09-2010, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by squirell nutkin

Not sure of the connection there, but Buddhism isn't about faith as much as it is about personal verification. See for yourself if your fat ass falls to the ground or if the chair supports it. Don't take my word for it, my word is useless. You need to know for yourself.

You have done well Grasshopper! Saddha is often contradictory and confusing to me. Just search on this term and see what is says about faith.

Also I have heard that "seeking the truth" is a key point in Buddhism. My problem is the truth I may find is not the truth someone else may find. Therefore, it really isn't truth.

I love this question: Do you believe that what you believe is really real?

The best thing I have learned from Buddhism is mindfulness. I've missed out on this most of my life. Wished I had understood this many many moons ago.

lumberjim · 03-09-2010, 11:55 PM

thoughts distract you from the purity of being

be, do not think to be.

Yznhymr · 03-10-2010, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lumberjim

thoughts distract you from the purity of being

be, do not think to be.

02-24-2010, 04:51 PM	#32
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	Plus, if a chair does collapse, there's no faith pushing me to insist that it didn't. And the new evidence may aid in recognizing other chairs that may not be stable. __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

02-28-2010, 11:57 AM	#33
morethanpretty Thats "Miss Zipper Neck" to you. Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: little town (but not the littlest) in texas Posts: 2,957	This is a bit of thread drift... I had a dream last night that my mom was holding me under the water and hitting my back so that I could not hold in air. She wasn't trying to drown me, she was insisting that if I just "believed" that I could breath, that I could. She was telling me to lie to myself, that I can trick my mind into believing I can breath underwater if I just kept lying to myself and telling me that I could. Then I would actually be able to breath. I'm mentioning this because that is how I feel about faith. People are just lying to themselves that something is true for so long that they believe it. Doesn't actually make it true. __________________ Addicts may suck dick for coke, but love came up with the idea to put a dick in there to begin with. -Jack O'Brien Last edited by morethanpretty; 02-28-2010 at 12:17 PM.

02-28-2010, 06:09 PM	#34
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	And your nightmares doesn't make it untrue. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

03-01-2010, 03:09 PM	#36
Pie Gone and done Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 4,808	My father kept a copy of "The God Delusion" next to his hospital bed during his transplant. It kept the chaplain away. __________________ per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.

03-06-2010, 08:51 AM	#40
squirell nutkin has a second hand user title Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: in a Nut House Posts: 2,017	There are people who spend their entire lives contemplating and practicing and meditating and studying this and other religions. I doubt there is much value in forming an opinion based on reading a short, possibly poorly translated, supposedly quoted paragraph in an online forum where you are logged out if you touch the monkey. All of our informed opinions, together based on a hour (I'm making a highly generous guess) spent considering this passage against millions of monks and lay people practicing this religion for 2500 years seem to be slightly wanting. And the passage quoted is not the definition of Buddhism. __________________ And now I'm finished posting.

03-09-2010, 09:40 PM	#42
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	If you are late because you were doing a good deed, the traffic lights will turn green as you approach. That is what to believe. If it was a selfless good deed, the hobo might not step out in front of you as you accelerate. __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

03-09-2010, 11:55 PM	#44
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	thoughts distract you from the purity of being be, do not think to be. __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

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