Thoughts on Buddhism

[Abracadabra]

"Life is a mystery that cannot be known" is a platitude. It means nothing and can then later be reinterpreted to mean anything. Be more specific. Some mystery, that so many people know "the way"...hrugs: I like my mysteries to be more mysterious than the scribblings on wax paper in a fortune cookie.

Your reactions to my posts are highly paranoid on your part and have basically nothing to do with my position on anything.

You speak of things like "Some mystery, that so many people know "the way"...hrugs:"

Have I ever suggested that I know they way to anywhere? I'm absolutely certain that I haven't. Nor have I ever remotely suggested that you should personally believe in a spiritual essence to reality. Nor have I suggested that your purely secular view of the world is necessarily wrong. On the contrary I'm totally aware that life may very well be of a purely secular nature.

You are jumping to humongous conclusions in our conversations that can only be driven by paranoia associated with religious zealots who have indeed tried to convince you that they know "the way" to somewhere special whilst you don't.

But don't confuse me with such overzealous extremists. I'm not even remotely taking that position.

Explanations? Oh, fantastic, your magical thoughts can provide us with explanations? Explanations for what, and please, do explain.

Who are you addressing here?

Where did I ever say that I could explain anything using magical thoughts?

Where did that come from?

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Let's get this straight Rhythm, you are the one who made the outlandish assertion that "In fact, magic does not exist".

I did not make the assertion that in fact it does. All I have addressed and suggested is that it hasn't been ruled out (contrary to your claim that it is supposedly a 'fact' that it does not exist)

Who's being unreasonable here?

For you to go around telling people that it is a 'fact' that magic does not exist, really isn't much different at all from a Christian zealot going around telling people that its a 'fact' that Jesus is the Son of God.

Neither of you can prove your absurd claims.

My only objection to you is that you are attempting to make out like as if it has someone been scientifically or logically well-established that magic cannot possibly exist.

That simply isn't true. It's blatantly false. It's basically a lie (i.e. an untruth)

For all scientists know the entire phenomena of life and the universe can indeed be nothing but a grand display of magic that no human even has the capability of comprehending.

For you to claim that it's a 'fact' that a magical reality has been "ruled out" and cannot possibly exist, is quite frankly hogwash.

The totality of our scientific knowledge of the world simply is in a position to make that sort of claim. You have become an atheistic extremist at the opposite end of the rainbow from religious fundamental zealots.

That's the only point that I'm trying to get across to you.

Extremism in either direction is just as ignorant.

My only position is that a magical reality or a spiritual reality is most certainly still well within the scope of a being plausible.

You are basically taking the stance that science has ruled out the possibility of a spiritual essence to reality altogether.

That's hogwash.

No such thing has been established by our scientific inquiry into the physical nature of the universe.

You're just flat out spreading false information, and making false claims about what has actually been established through science.

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HEY, What about the ethical teachings of Buddha? Are these valid? And what about his methodical way of relieving suffering and maintaining personal happiness? These are pragmatic aspects of the dharma that are probably more important than any shaky concept of reincarnation. I just wonder what you 'wise guys' have to say about that! lol This is what I am talking about when I warn not to see the teachings too abstractly.

Well, I'd like to respond to this myself. As much as I admire the wisdom of the Buddhist teachings, the truth is that when it comes right down to it he doesn't truly teach anything that an intelligent secular atheistic psychologist shouldn't be able to figure out.

In short, there is no need to believe in anything mystical to grasp the concepts taught by Buddha. You certainly don't need to believe in reincarnation, for example. And if you need to believe in some sort of life after death, to avoid "pain and suffering" that could only be because the thought of dying itself is causing your distress.

So there's really no need to even think in terms of spirituality in order to benefit from the teachings of Buddha, and like I say, a secular psychologist should be able to come up with similar advice, and they probably already have.