‘That context’ is existence, life and the living of it.Astus wrote: In that context one talks of one's responsibility and such, so there is an agent who acts of his own volition, and then suffers the outcome of those acts.
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- Fri May 22, 2020 9:57 am
- Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
- Topic: Nihilistic view
- Replies: 129
- Views: 13767
Re: Nihilistic view
- Fri May 22, 2020 6:29 am
- Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
- Topic: Nihilistic view
- Replies: 129
- Views: 13767
Re: Nihilistic view
A point about 'eternalism'. According to Bhikkhu Bodhi's commentary on the Brahmajala Sutta, 'eternalism' is best understood in the context of the religious and cultural world in which the Buddha taught. Bear in mind that the Buddha himself is said to have recalled all of his previous existences on ...
- Thu May 21, 2020 10:25 pm
- Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
- Topic: Nihilistic view
- Replies: 129
- Views: 13767
Re: Nihilistic view
So one can apply that for the self as well. To say: "There is no self" is nihilistic view. "There is no ultimately existing self" is what Buddha taught. This is the nub of the issue. In the very short text Ananda Sutta , the Buddha is asked straight out by Vachagotta the Wandere...
- Thu May 21, 2020 10:16 pm
- Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
- Topic: Nihilistic view
- Replies: 129
- Views: 13767
Re: Nihilistic view
This ['afflicted mind'] ceases functioning and what is left is enlightened consciousness, which is defined differently according to various traditions, but has as a common descriptor that it is free of afflictions and stains. You won't find that distinction in the Pali texts, at least not explicitl...
- Thu May 21, 2020 10:23 am
- Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
- Topic: Nihilistic view
- Replies: 129
- Views: 13767
Re: Nihilistic view
In many of those verses, we find the phrase ‘...with the cessation of volitional formations, cessation of consciousness...’ as If this in itself is the fulfilment of the teaching. The question could be asked in respect of the question posed by the original post, how is the ‘cessation of consciousnes...
- Thu May 21, 2020 8:52 am
- Forum: Tibetan Buddhism
- Topic: Manjushris Activity
- Replies: 16
- Views: 2327
Re: Manjushris Activity
I think it might be this one https://www.learnreligions.com/manjusri ... tva-449980
- Thu May 21, 2020 5:21 am
- Forum: Introductions
- Topic: Greetings from an old geezer in Canada!
- Replies: 5
- Views: 1342
Re: Greetings from an old geezer in Canada!
and another (even older) geezer (in Australia).
Struggle is part of it. What was that old saying? 'The struggle is the glory'.
Struggle is part of it. What was that old saying? 'The struggle is the glory'.
- Thu May 21, 2020 4:09 am
- Forum: Tibetan Buddhism
- Topic: Manjushris Activity
- Replies: 16
- Views: 2327
Re: Manjushris Activity
That writer on Learn Religions, Barbara O’Brien, writes good articles on Buddhist topics. She was the editor of About.com’s Buddhist pages for some years.
- Wed May 20, 2020 5:52 am
- Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
- Topic: Nihilistic view
- Replies: 129
- Views: 13767
Re: Nihilistic view
It [nihilism] is normally understood as a denial of moral values, something that is clearly a wrong view according to any Buddhist. The philosophical question then arises what is the connection between 'what is real' and 'what is the basis for moral values'. In Western culture, the question is pose...
- Fri May 15, 2020 10:28 am
- Forum: Discovering Mahayana Buddhism
- Topic: Best books on general Mahayana Buddhism
- Replies: 13
- Views: 3243
Re: Best books on general Mahayana Buddhism
That Westerhoff title looks terrific
- Thu May 14, 2020 12:41 am
- Forum: Discovering Mahayana Buddhism
- Topic: Best books on general Mahayana Buddhism
- Replies: 13
- Views: 3243
Re: Best books on general Mahayana Buddhism
Foundations of Buddhism Rupert Gethin
Buddhism: its Essence and Development Edward Conze
Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations Paul Williams
Buddhism: its Essence and Development Edward Conze
Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations Paul Williams
- Wed May 13, 2020 6:19 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Uploading the ego to the cloud
- Replies: 72
- Views: 8822
Re: Uploading the ego to the cloud
Relevant current article on whether AI can be intelligent here by Kristof Koch, who is definitely an expert in this field. I noticed the last paragraph in particular: If I take my Tesla car and beat it up with a hammer, it's my right to do it. My neighbor might think that I am crazy, but it's my pro...
- Wed May 13, 2020 1:55 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Uploading the ego to the cloud
- Replies: 72
- Views: 8822
Re: Uploading the ego to the cloud
I think we should take a long hard look at the motivation behind these endeavors. Firstly, I suspect that it might represent a longing for immortality. From the Buddhist doctrinal perspective, that longing also is a manifestation of desire, namely, the desire to continue in existence and the fear of...
- Tue May 12, 2020 3:28 am
- Forum: Media
- Topic: NY Magazine Article about origins of Buddha image
- Replies: 0
- Views: 735
NY Magazine Article about origins of Buddha image
How the Buddha got his Face
May be paywalled, although NY Times usually provides one or two articles free.
May be paywalled, although NY Times usually provides one or two articles free.
- Tue May 12, 2020 3:21 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Uploading the ego to the cloud
- Replies: 72
- Views: 8822
Re: Uploading the ego to the cloud
But it does remain the case that the Buddhist conception of dharmas is momentary - arising and ceasing in rapid succession, rather than as enduring substances, doesn't it? Because the point about atoms in that sense, is that they are, first of all, permanent and unceasing, and secondly, not created,...
- Tue May 12, 2020 3:05 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Uploading the ego to the cloud
- Replies: 72
- Views: 8822
Re: Uploading the ego to the cloud
I have read a little about Sarvastivada - reality of past/present/future dharmas was how it was glossed to me. But the broader point is this: that abhidharma arises from the analysis and contemplation of the constituents of experience. All of the steps of the 12-fold chain pertain to the elements of...
- Mon May 11, 2020 11:53 pm
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Uploading the ego to the cloud
- Replies: 72
- Views: 8822
Re: Uploading the ego to the cloud
Is it still the "same" or "different" than the one that existed before the first accident? In other words: Is all that is needed to preserve our identity only a brain? I don't know if it's a question of identity. Arguably the individual identity is changing at every moment - in ...
- Mon May 11, 2020 11:17 pm
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Uploading the ego to the cloud
- Replies: 72
- Views: 8822
Re: Uploading the ego to the cloud
The word "dharma" derives from "dhṛ," "to hold, to bear," and generally, among ten definitions of "dharma," the one relevant here is "bearer of characteristics." So they are comparable to the ‘substance and attribute’ model of Aristotelian metaphysi...
- Mon May 11, 2020 7:36 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Uploading the ego to the cloud
- Replies: 72
- Views: 8822
Re: Uploading the ego to the cloud
the whole shebang: memories, experience, emotions, daydreams, subliminal sensations and anything else which might be going on. And by "'a suitable machine" I meant something which is capable of functioning analogously to whatever is the physical basis of the mind (which is a question in i...
- Mon May 11, 2020 3:18 am
- Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
- Topic: What possible reason could there be to study or practice Buddhism if arising and ceasing do not occur?
- Replies: 52
- Views: 7412
Re: What possible reason could there be to study or practice Buddhism if arising and ceasing do not occur?
But if one looks into it, one investigates it, there are no things, nor change. This 'looking into' is not a simple nor a casual matter. I think it means, 'seeing beyond the apparent flux and change', but that 'seeing beyond' is itself the fulfillment of the path, isn't it? If one casually says, 'w...