(April 14, 2017 at 7:27 pm)Brian37 Wrote:(April 14, 2017 at 9:54 am)emjay Wrote: I can't tell whether you're raging against me in all of this and it's making me paranoid. For the record, as I said, I'm not a Buddhist... but I do 'like what I was sold' to the extent that I agree with it but just as like what I was sold with any psychological theory or whatever that I agree with. Course I can get pissed if I think it's being misrepresented, but I think you'd be the same if you perceived someone misrepresenting ABBA (I'm afraid
I can't do that, cos they're cool). Anyway, I don't think it's the source of humanity's goodness... indeed it goes very much against human nature... just a tool to reduce suffering by stepping back from shit... ie stepping back from 'attachment' to things or emotional states like anger. As you can see I'm not that good at it (at least right now), but that varies, and a better Buddhist simply would not care at all what other others thought about them... whether they were misrepresented etc... because that's what non-attachment leads to. So I'm not trying to sell it to you, just responding to a perceived attack... but at the same time, aware that that is attachment (to anger, pride etc) and therefore something I should let go for my own good... it's just harder sometimes than others, and I'm more self-aware/mindful sometimes than others.
Thanks for your answer. I understand what you're saying.
"Venting" not "raging". I view ALL RELIGIONS the same as if my own mother kept repeating every day "The New England Patriots beat the Chicago Cubs in the Stanley Cup" I love my mother, I MISS MY MOTHER, but that does not mean I have to blindly value every thing she claimed to be true.
Yes, bad logic and naked assertions piss me off. NO, that does not mean I hate you personally. It just means on any given topic I am not buying that claim. My mom when I was growing up often got to the point where she spoke up and said, "STOP DOING THAT" or "STOP SAYING THAT IT IS NOT TRUE". When my mom was right she was right, but she was not right about everything. I view my species capability the same way. I don't have to like everything you say but merely saying "bullshit" isn't a call for your death or arrest. It is simply saying "you got it wrong".
Sometimes it's hard to tell online and it definitely seems like you've been on the Red Bull for a few days
Anyway, I see that we're at an impasse so I'll drop the subject, except to say that if you ever want to know where I was coming from, I'd recommend reading the book 'What The Buddha Taught' by Walpola Sri Rahula, ISBN 9781851681426. That's my favourite book on Buddhism and the most influential for me.
The Buddha's writings are like legal documents, with every term clearly defined, and much repetition to get the points across... I'd swear he had OCD
But that sort of writing appeals to me because I like to know exactly where I stand in anything, with nothing left vague or to chance... it's not like reading the Bible at all but rather reading a philosophical/psychological theory, and one with no appeal to faith, only logic and observation. So if you wish to dismiss my 'claim' on the grounds that it's bullshit or that the logic doesn't convince you, fair enough, that's your prerogative and I won't argue with that but just be clear that all I am claiming is that some (and I would personally say most... barring the reincarnation stuff which is only a small part of it) of the Buddha's alleged writings (in this book) make sound logical and psychological sense, for use as tools in this life for happier living. That's all I'm claiming. And for me it is manifestly true, without any appeal to the mystical, because it does help me deal better psychologically with things. But as Neo is fond of saying... YMMV... and clearly it does. So there we are... I'll drop the subject now.
