If there are no rules and regulations to being a buddhist, then what does it mean to be a buddhist - as opposed to a guy named Joe, and where do those precepts you keep telling us about come from?

There is no buddhist "thou shalt not".....kill...for example?

The most basic things are the 5 precepts. (Killing, stealing, adultery,lying and alcohol/drugs). These are considered wrong things to do. We are asked to refrain from doing them. If you don't , that's your choice. It teaches us a righteous way to live.

Christians and Muslims are also given a list, and it's their choice as to whether or not they wish to follow the list. They are considered wrong things to do, and the list is supposed to teach them how to live a righteous life.

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me" seems to me there is not much choice there

Could -you- be a muslim buddhist?  Religions make demands of fealty, either directly or indirectly. You're now quibbling over what's -contained- in either list, but this is to be expected. If you liked the contents of the christian list better you'd probably be a christian. You don't, you like the buddhist list, so you're a buddhist.

I satisfy that commandment, by the way, as an atheist - to the very letter, and so do you. We have no other gods before the christian god, by default, because we have no gods at all to place one before another to begin with.

Instead of directly judging the religion, you could've asked for an evidence. I mean from the Quran itself.
To counter what he said (ironically; from the same Quran) :

Quote:I took a classic example of forgiveness. Admits that he misused women, lied, bribed, insubordination in office and more. After admitting the wrong actions he says after marriage that is all going to stop and Allah will forgive for the past due to it not being repeated. His example was how his mother forgives him for his wrong actions and Allah forgives him 73 times more than that of his mother. How come the exact number 73 times i asked him. " It is stated in the Quran". 

God is merciful, but Allah is neither a mom or a dad. Check this verse :

Sura 5
( 18 )   But the Jews and the Christians say, "We are the children of Allah and His beloved." Say, "Then why does He punish you for your sins?" Rather, you are human beings from among those He has created. He forgives whom He wills, and He punishes whom He wills. And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, and to Him is the [final] destination.

It's ironic when a Muslim claiming to follow the Quran, ignores the above verse and considers God "a mother". About the number 73, that's a Hadith, this number is not even mentioned in the Quran.

Bottom line for this point : we are not God's children, neither is he "Our daddy or mommy". He will punish us if he wanted, forgive us if he wanted.  

Quote:Then came the conversation of killing animals. "A cow may reproduce more and more and it will be too crowded. Therefore it is alright to kill and consume because the land is going to be crowded with cows. I asked him when you try to kill a cow the animal shatters with fear and tries to run away, desperately cries, Is that correct? "Yes". Imagine someone or an animal comes after you to kill you wont you feel the same way? . Yes" . "But it is stated in a Quaran that God made animals for us and therefore it is alright to kill and consume. There is a way to kill the animal from the neck (According to the Quran) without pain. I have killed  myself" 

Yes; animals cry and that's exactly the point : to feel and hear the voice of death with every meal you eat. 
Given that murder is one of the biggest sins in the faith; check this verse :

Sura 5
( 32 )   Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.

If you followed this verse literally, killing animals even for fun, is an extreme act . We kill certain animals to survive. To actually save our souls from dying. 

That's life. If humans learned to hear the animals crying with every meal they eat; maybe they would've stopped wars and stopped killing each others.

about the last point, the killing from the neck comes from the Hadith; nothing in the Quran states that.

Quote:Then came the conversation of the famous "Poke". I asked why only poke instead of the rest. " The pig was created by God with shit" that's the exact words he used. The pig eats its own shit and others shit. The filthiest creature in the world. Therefore we don't eat pork. It is said in the Quran. 

About the "swine". Swine is domesticated, that's for starters. It's very economical as a food source, because as a fact : swine consume almost anything, even corpses. So I'm sorry, but I'll pass.
God forbade the sources of food which aren't clean; on pork God did have a point, the animal is nasty. 





"We don't dig on swine. that's all. Pigs are filthy animals."

Quote:I came to a conclusion that most Muslims "think" with the religion. If its not in the book , There is no other way. I told him about Robs idea on logic of two outcomes and other infinite possibilities unless one gives demonstration or evidence . But no. If its not in the Quran, There is no other way. Find paradise after death no matter what one does good or bad.

From where i come, No Muslim does fund raising projects or charity. From what i have heard even if they did, they will make sure only people from their religion will benefit.

I'm a Muslim, and I will pay a poor non Muslim, or pay for a charity involving non Muslims.

That would be fruitless, since the quran contains no evidence. The pig, like -any- animal, will eat whatever it has available in order to avoid starvation. In the wild, and given a chance in domestication, they are fastidiously clean animals. That people keep them in sties has nothing to do with the pigs habits or nature.

So, long story short, muslims are filthy, and have the audicity to blame the pig for the circumstances of it's imprisonment. "Allah" is as incapable of making a point as the quran is of providing evidence. Perhaps, rather than looking to the quran, you should have asked someone who raised pigs, Atlas? Then you wouldn't come off like the simpleton that your god clearly is.

(November 18, 2015 at 4:37 pm)Rhythm Wrote: That would be fruitless, since the quran contains no evidence.  The pig, like -any- animal, will eat whatever it has available in order to avoid starvation.  In the wild, and given a chance in domestication, they are fastidiously clean animals.  That people keep them in sties has nothing to do with the pigs habits or nature.  

So, long story short, muslims are filthy, and have the audicity to blame the pig for the circumstances of it's imprisonment.  "Allah" is as incapable of making a point as the quran is of providing evidence.  Perhaps, rather than looking to the quran, you should have asked someone who raised pigs, Atlas?  Then you wouldn't come off like the simpleton that your god clearly is.

You smell like omega 3 fish oil. I won't return the generalization you just made on all Muslims.

Anyhow, the Quran doesn't give a reason. God forbade it and that's it. the reason though, is from my own thinking.
And again : enjoy as much swine pies as you want. I'll pass.

That's kind of how allah rolls, though, isn't it?  Says ignorant shit, fails to explain ignorant shit...and demands that his followers regurgitate his ignorant shit unto eternity, which, as you just did, they do.

You'll never know the joy of a slow cooked, pulled bbq pork sammy...because you think pigs are dirty, even though they aren't. Confronted with facts, you defer to your fantasies. That's the real tragedy here.  

Some of us choose not to eat pigs, but for sensible reasons. Not because some ignorant nob ages ago wrote something down.