Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke The grain of salt may indeed appear to vanish from existence when it dissolves into the ocean. But taste the water sir, and it will taste salty....
Dwell on that a little and prepare yourself for your next lesson. (It involves a teapot).
Hah!! didn't Robbie use "Zen Master" as a handle not too long ago?
Surely we don't have 2 actual Zen Masters in our midst? Apparently they are very hard to come by as authentic Masters are few and far between.
We are indeed blessed to have 2 .... Wowo 😀
Originally posted by robbie carrobie I do but i wanna be conscious of it, I don't want to be a snowflake on the river or a stone in the water, I want to be conscious. Buddhism if it cannot guarantee me consciousness is a fail.
It's not Buddhism, it's you.
"Work out your own enlightenment/salvation with diligence" Buddha
Originally posted by karoly aczel Hah!! didn't Robbie use "Zen Master" as a handle not too long ago?
Surely we don't have 2 actual Zen Masters in our midst? Apparently they are very hard to come by as authentic Masters are few and far between.
We are indeed blessed to have 2 .... Wowo 😀
He didn't deserve the title, so I took it from him.
Originally posted by karoly aczel Not just native American, though the word "Spirit" may not be the same in say ... Australian indigenous culture, I'm pretty sure they have concept of it.
In Hinduism it is Vishnu - the creator of all things.
Creator. Explains everything, and explains nothing. Clearly though the creator has created conflict and divisiveness.
Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke He didn't deserve the title, so I took it from him.
Sure thing man, he did give it up after not long. However it is an ominous title.
You seem to know a thing or two about eastern spirituality so I nod slightly in your direction for taking on a such a huge handle
Originally posted by apathist Creator. Explains everything, and explains nothing. Clearly though the creator has created conflict and divisiveness.
Like a game of chess, in a way.
William Burroughs has a comment along the lines that our universe is based on war and games. (There may be other universes out there but ours in inexorably linked with 'war and games' ).
What I get from that is that the only way our species has genuinely "grown" as a species is through understanding ourselves and the world around us coming from conflict of in form or another.
Technology has advanced because of war, our understanding of human nature has increased through empathy for others, and minds have been sharpened for millenia playing games such as chess.
It is a compelling quote from the late and great Mr. Burroughs, and featured at the start of a "geek doco" called "The King of Kong" which explores the personalities behind the world record holders of computer games such as Donkey Kong.
Originally posted by karoly aczel...
What I get from that is that the only way our species has genuinely "grown" as a species is through understanding ourselves and the world around us coming from conflict of in form or another. ...
Devil on one shoulder, angel on the other. They whisper to us.
Try to be good enough and we become meat cows, a placid and happy enough resource for the other shoulder. Try to be bad enough and we become eating machines, a violent and happy enough resource for the other shoulder.
I wonder sometimes how other intelligent life in our universe may be, and what would we have to offer. I think it may be the devil and the angel.
Originally posted by apathist We are drops of water from a sea. I am science-minded and still can't get away from this. Physics is easy to understand, and it needs something else.
I too am science minded and over the years science has just blown some garbage straight out of my mind.
However, at the end of the day, science in it's current form is just measuring and recording trends and whatnot. It doesn't deal with who we are. It does however try to deal with what we are(Quantum), which may go a long way to showing us who we are. Maybe not
Originally posted by karoly aczel I too am science minded and over the years science has just blown some garbage straight out of my mind.
However, at the end of the day, science in it's current form is just measuring and recording trends and whatnot. It doesn't deal with who we are. It does however try to deal with what we are(Quantum), which may go a long way to showing us who we are. Maybe not
Science is moving away from strict reductionism and determinism, and making new sorts of progress as a result. But I find it remarkable that unless we are talking about mammalian brains, we have no way of determining whether a given system (cell, bug, biosphere, sun) has subjective experiences. It's like science in all of its power is blind.
Originally posted by apathist Science is moving away from strict reductionism and determinism, and making new sorts of progress as a result. But I find it remarkable that unless we are talking about mammalian brains, we have no way of determining whether a given system (cell, bug, biosphere, sun) has subjective experiences. It's like science in all of its power is blind.
Or, we don't really exist.
lol, I'm starting to disappear as you type...
Nah... not really.
But another thing Burroughs said was about our purpose in life and wether or not there was an eternal life after death.
he said that's its the only thing worth musing over in the end of things. If the universe is indeed atheistic then .... well all sorts of questions.. like if we never really existed in the first place.
Originally posted by robbie carrobie ... How can there be existence without consciousness?
Pebbles have mastered that skill.
It seems to me that when we are dead, all the stuff our brains do doesn't happen anymore. Our memories are gone, our hopes and fears are gone, our physical senses are gone, and so on. What could still remain?
Consciousness would be gone. But what is it that experiences consciousness?
Originally posted by karoly aczel ... our purpose in life ...
That's a force, isn't it? Introspective people feel it. Buddhists say our purpose is to end suffering. I appreciate that, but it doesn't quite work, because a world-breaker bomb would end all of our suffering and yet that doesn't feel right. Does it?
buddhism
02 May '17 00:25
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