Dharma Wheel

A 'well regulated militia' would have an armory, with all such weapons locked, with anyone needing access having to sign them out. That is what a 'well-regulated militia' would look like. Like the Swiss model and the Greek National Guard model in border territories (according to a treaty with Turke...

And on that note, given the same discussion has occurred elsewhere too and the answers here are clear and concise...

It's all about context. You wanted to know why I considered the four criteria to be religious. And I pointed out that you think they are too. Which does prove my point. I am really not interested in playing this childish game. In conclusion, then, the Heart Sutra is not what we were told it is, but...

Chinnamasta is the Hindu Goddess of transformation. She is one of the Mahavidyas, the wisdom Goddesses, and is probably the most terrifying of them. She is depicted holding her own head, which she has just cut off. Learn more about Chinnamasta here Chinnamasta Shivashakti Chinnamasta is a Buddhist ...

In one you deny that your truth-criteria are religious, and in the other you affirm that this is a religious forum in which religious people discuss religious ideas and in particular religious truth criteria. So you know I'm right about this, but you want to fight about it anyway... No. I am just p...

PeterC wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 12, 2018 1:13 pm

State law yes - there are various forms of ballot initiatives that basically do this - but federal law, no.

Then it needs to start happening at a state level. When there is enough impetus, this will force change at the federal level.

If you have not received specific practices for the dead, then dedicating the merit from any practice you happen to do serves as a source of merit for them, helps them to achieve liberation.

What is the deal with referendums to push for changes in law, in the US? Could that be a possible avenue for "bottom-up" change?

If you compare the qualities of Sukhavati with the qualities of the six realms individually, I think it makes it clear that it lies outside the six realms. Non-retrogression and immeasurable lifespan are the first ones that come to mind. And the fact that not even the word "suffering" (let alone th...

Johnny Dangerous wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 11, 2018 2:26 am

The country is saturated with guns...

My refrigerator is currently packed up with food. I am hungry. But I am not going to eat, because I can't possibly eat all the food that is in there, in one go.

If he was, it was for our sake. So basically you rationalise the conflicting views by considering that in some cases the Buddha was bullshitting us, rather than considering that you are bullshitting yourself? You essentially put your view above that of the Buddha? Nice method. I think I'll pass tho...

tatpurusa wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 10, 2018 4:46 pm

If you mean figuratively, yes.

No, I mean samsara exists infitely.

Otherwise it would be the plain negation of Bodhi.

No, it is exactly why Bodhi is 100% necessary.

No, I said nothing about belief. Here’s my position on rebirth: I don’t know. Here’s what I do know: I know that if one sees that there is no self, no “I”, and if one sees that all things and the world, in all directions and times, are empty and without self-nature, then one knows it’s foolish to s...

tatpurusa wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 10, 2018 2:01 pm

Everything within a dream is true relative to that dream as long as that particular dream lasts.

The dream is infinitely long.

I should have the time machine finished by Monday. It will take a few days to observe and jot down interviews of relevant parties involved in the origins and formation of Buddhism, and will have the final draft finished and handed in by the end of the week. Now you are just being a jerk, so I will ...

In fact, the answer is clear. They have embraced a Buddhism largely of their own projections, albeit in some cases with some skilful prompting by the kind of Asian or Western teachers who are active in the spiritual marketplace. It is a Buddhism shorn of anything objectionable to the upscale inhabi...

I should have the time machine finished by Monday. It will take a few days to observe and jot down interviews of relevant parties involved in the origins and formation of Buddhism, and will have the final draft finished and handed in by the end of the week. Now you are just being a jerk, so I will ...