(August 24, 2012 at 8:45 pm)Rhythm Wrote: A common affliction since the forced opening of eastern ports two hundred or so years ago.
I'm aware of this as well. I wonder, had I been born in Mongolia or Tibet, and followed the same skeptic path I have here, would I be adamantly rejecting Buddhism and eastern religions but finding something to believe in with Judeo Christian philosophy?
However, another one of the things that led me to Buddhist thought is treatment for borderline personality disorder, especially DBT. I don't know of any legitimate treatments that involve Christian philosophy.
(August 24, 2012 at 8:45 pm)padraic Wrote: Are you referring,for example,to the notion that suffering is caused by attachment, 'ahimsa' (the absence of desire to harm) and that the Buddha said " above all,loving kindness." (?). Yes/No? Different?
Those, plus viewing myself as just another part of the world instead of as an especially important part of the world really helps me remove ego from the equation. As for karma, I believe in it, but in a way that's far less concrete than what strict Buddhism believes.
