Dharma Wheel

I am challenging the claim that we somehow know what the Buddha and Dogen actually believed . There is no speculation involved, just an acknowledgment that it is something we can't know for certain. That would be just a facile challenge. What use is it to even ask that question, if not to create sp...

Such notions of using "skillful means" to replace ideas that we don't like is not good policy, does not survive critical analysis and leads to endless speculative flights of fancy. Is it your habit to replace ideas you don't like? I am challenging the claim that we somehow know what the Buddha and ...

The point though is that the Buddha and Dogen all believed in this post-mortem continuity called rebirth. We have a record of what they taught , not what they believed . It is important not to confuse the two. Question: how else would anyone know what they believed, if not through the record of the...

Huseng wrote:The point though is that the Buddha and Dogen all believed in this post-mortem continuity called rebirth.

We have a record of what they taught, not what they believed. It is important not to confuse the two.

catmoon wrote:For instance, it is good to ask which is more energy-dense, a cubic meter of gasoline or a cubic meter of molten rock? Which weighs more? Which stores best? Which can power a vehicle, and how efficently?

A lava powered car? You might be on to something there.

Wesley1982 wrote:I have a tendency to identify sexuality with racial purity..

Er, okay...

Are you sure you are on the right forum?

Wesley1982 wrote:Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..

Yes, Grasshopper, a Christian can convert to the Buddhist faith.

Buddhism is the science of the mind, and its the best mind-science that this world has to offer. Even psychology pales in comparison. Buddhism (among other things) is the subjective science of the mind. Psychology is objective . The two complement each other. Because they are very different in both...

Ikkyu wrote:So are beliefs in Buddhism more means to an end than ends in themselves?

Definitely.

Aemilius wrote:In the Blue Annals there is a story of a tibetan who developed an Ushnisha on his head after his death.

You mean they tied his hair in a topknot?

Ikkyu wrote:A number of books have been published over the years such as "Buddhism Without Beliefs"... taking the ritualistic and religious element out of Buddhism in order to convey it purely as a philosophy.

What about Buddhism as a way of life?

Huifeng wrote:But, feel free to grind your axe as you will, all it does is breed entity and division.

Then why condone it?

With Mediumism, Channeling, Spiritism, Séances, etc. one is not very likely to contact Buddhas, from what I understand. With this 'method' one is more likely to contact worldly spirits, Pretas, hell beings, etc. (it is said that channelers usually end up channeling worldly spirits who pose as Enlig...

Nemo wrote:My mystic eye senses a heretic. Acolytes fetch the burning pitch!

Beware the goat in sheep's clothing!

As far as I am concerned, all the necessary teachings are out there and easily available, especially over the internet. There is no need to spend a cent on teachings, but we do need to support the teachers. I personally am unimpressed by slick marketing. The more something is dressed up, the more do...

jeeprs wrote:How about - 'soul is a quality not an entity'?

"Soul is a hamhock in your cornflakes."

Blue Garuda wrote:I'd rather connect with a Bison than a Boson.

Or a Bosun.

Do you notice that the shinier and redder the apple, the less taste it has?

You used the word 'imaginary' early on in a post. It means 'existing only in the imagination or fancy; not real'. I use the word "imaginary" to mean "existing in the imagination". The issue comes down to what the imagination actually is, and what it is capable of. Everything is either real or not a...

I don't ascribe to the 'pretend' approach. There is a big difference between imagining something to exist, and pretending something exists. Imagination is a creative act. It can be claimed that by imagining something you bring it into existence. It really doesn't matter how deities exist, the fact ...