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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sun Tzu who wrote (419525)	9/24/2008 2:25:10 PM
From: bentway	1 Recommendation Respond to of 1576930

Here's the Buddhist equivalent of a "suicide bombing". Which sticks with you as a lesson forever..

To: Sun Tzu who wrote (419525)	9/24/2008 4:42:06 PM
From: Brumar89	Respond to of 1576930

I'm not aware of any Buddhist witch-hunting, suicide bombing, persecution and hatred of other religions. That maybe because there isn't any such history or it may be because Buddhist history isn't well enough known in the west or there may be other historical reasons involved - Buddhists have been in retreat it seems for a very long time - it died out completely in its original homeland of India and central Asia. We certainly know that culturally related Hindus aren't immune to such violent fanaticism. The Tamils pioneered modern suicide bombings and fanatic Hindus are actively engaged in persecution of Christians in some sections of India: aina.org here we see that the notion of nirvana (they call it moksha in Hinduism but its the same concept) hasn't prevented these things on the part of Hindus. Furthermore it isn't the case that western religions are universally prone to such things. Witch-hunting, for example, in Christian Europe is something that arose during a certain historical period, persisted for a time and then passed out of existence long before the current period of secularism.

To: Sun Tzu who wrote (419525)	9/25/2008 1:57:43 PM
From: Brumar89	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1576930

Christianity gave the world hospitals and universities. It abolished slavery, both in aniquity and again in more modern times. It brought literacy and education to the masses. It has transformed millions of lives from liabilities to human society to assets. As an example it transformed John Newton, a slave trader who abused his female slaves, into an abolitionist and the author of the hymn, Amazing Grace. Other Christians wrote the words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Now I don't know whether similar things can be said of Buddhism. But if it can, here is your opportunity.

To: Sun Tzu who wrote (419525)	10/4/2008 5:20:18 PM
From: Brumar89	Respond to of 1576930

On the difference between East and West Do all religions really teach the same thing? Look at this example from Buddhism. The Buddha's attitude is best presented through illustration. The legend runs that one day a grandmother appeared before him in tears. She had just lost a very dear grandchild. The Buddha looked at her gravely. "How many people are there is this city of Savatthi?" he asked, with apparent irrelevance. Upon receiving her reply, he came to the point. "Would you like to have as many children and grandchildren as there are in this city of Savatthi?" The old lady, still weeping, cried out "yes, yes." "But, the Buddha gently remonstrated, "if you had as many children as there are people in Savatthi, you wuold have to weep every day, for people die daily there." The old lady thought a moment; he ws right! As she went away comforted, she carried with her the Buddha's saying, "those who have a hundred dear ones have a hundred woes, those who have ninety dear ones have ninety woes..those who have one dear one have one woe, those who hold nothing dear have no woe." From David S. Noss, A History of the World's Religions (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2003) 11th ed., p. 180. dangerousidea.blogspot.com Is it really a worthy goal to hold nothing dear? I have respect for religious people no matter what their faith and I have no particular beef with Buddhists or Buddhism, but is an end to woe, at the cost of not loving anything or anybody, ultimately including yourself (the extinguishment of self), not just a worthy goal but the most worthy of all goals? Unlke the writer above, I don't believe this is just an east - west thing. I'm not sure why, but it seems there is a profound deep weariness with life that is at the base of Buddhism and I don't see what is attractive or desirable about that. Something I don't get.