I'm an atheist but I quite like Buddism...

[Alex K]

Good point. It is said that there is no 'Buddhism' merely Buddhist X at point Y and date Z. From the Wikipedia article on Buddhist karma, and the definition I learned:

The "law of karma" applies

...specifically to the moral sphere [It is] not concerned with the general relation between actions and their consequences, but rather with the moral quality of actions and their consequences, such as the pain and pleasure and good or bad experiences for the doer of the act.

But it's also something like your spiritual DNA, assuming you believe in rebirth, the part you pass on. Only in the West do you find the idea of "I found that dollar 'cause I just gave money to the homeless guy."

I you want to know about the life of Siddhartha, or just see a visually stunning movie, try "The Little Buddha". Debate later why Keanu Reeves is the default Hollywood choice for messiah.

For my own personal religion, I add this:

the next buddha will have skin the color of dirt, six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. oh, yeah, and a freakin' righteous 'fro. and sunglasses - 'cause you gotta wear your sunglasses, so you can feel cool.

after he encounters nirvana, he will be tested. the MAN, lord of addiction and greed, will rise up before him and offer him all the moneys of the world. the buddha will look up and say "they are but dirt and ashes to my eyes, " and the money will burn and the gold will rust into dirt.

then the MAN will threat with all the armies of the oppressors. guns will be aimed, missiles will be armed, bombs will lock on target. the MAN will push his button and the weapons of hell will fly. then the buddha will look upon them and smile, and they will turn to flower petals and tabs of LSD and rain down upon the peoples.

at last, the MAN, knowing he has lost, will challenge "you are alone, who will know your accomplishment?" and the buddha will look towards the camera and smile, "the world is my witness".

i keep telling people this, and they just laugh - "wow, what an imagination", as if i'm kidding.

I don't think you're kidding, I just think you're high. But do go on, you are onto something there, like the Buddhist's Revelation of John. I'm sure it'll be a hit.

[tantric]

Yep, that was over a decade ago, when I decided that the war on drugs was "a war of terror and oppression conducted by the American government against its own citizens" and decided to do something about it, which involved sassafras and the gift economy. As Huey Freedman put it, "Domestic Terrorist, retired". And I was obsessed with Parliament/PFunk, which is not such a bad thing, thus the bit about sunglasses.

Naw - if you want me to rant, talk about the sociobiology of addiction. That's my button.

[psychoslice]

[fr0d0]

2)We are absolutely adaptable. Buddhism is the best way to end suffering. If a better way comes along, then that is the new Buddhism.

You are Borg!!

So if you found a better religion, you'd rename it Buddhism? Genius.

[The Grand Nudger]

Is "spiritual DNA" supposed to be more or less silly than , "I found that dollar 'cause I just gave money to the homeless guy"?

[tantric]

Renaming it Buddhism - the point of that is that we don't think we know the best way to get to peace and enlightenment. We expect to grow and improve, and since Buddhism is a goal, not a technique, we can adopt new things. For instance, we might start using EEG feedback to improve meditation.

I can't defend 'spiritual DNA' karma - I don't believe in rebirth, and I think all the other planes and whatnot are allegorical.

[JuliaL]

I've never formally studied Buddhism, but I read, and still have on a shelf, heavily tabbed, next to my "Portable Curmudgeon", a copy of "The Little Zen Companion." It is a small text of one page historical episodes and short quotes.

Samples:
"Zen is your everyday thought." -Chao-chou
"What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?"-Bertolt Brecht
"Unformed people delight in the gaudy and in novelty. Cooked people delight in the ordinary."-Zen saying
"Every day is a good day."-Yun-men

I never got into meditation because I had heard stories about people losing track and having a day or more disappear. Time is the only valuable commodity anyone has and it should not be squandered. That and I'm too lazy and undisciplined.
My (admittedly uneducated) interpretation of the Zen philosophy is that -Life is suffering, try not to think about it. If you've found Nirvana, it won't hurt any more.- As above, I'd rather not lose bits of my life any faster than real time. Sometimes it happens, like when I was in flow, designing at work. Sometimes days just evaporated.

"Act without doing, work without effort."-Tao Te Ching

I'd never claim enlightenment, but sometimes I think it just means finally getting the joke. I really like Ecclesiastes. At least the first parts, before the preacher starts to pander.

[ComradeMeow]

There is nothing useful in Buddhism anymore. Buddhism needs to fade and the only reason it exist is because of culture, tradition and ritualism. All of these things are fine and all but their purpose as functional philosophies are nonexistent. Buddhism is filled with woo and is entirely reliant upon it. The things Buddhism tries to address are secular and real but the philosophy of it is reliant upon superstition

[dyresand]

There is nothing useful in Buddhism anymore. Buddhism needs to fade and the only reason it exist is because of culture, tradition and ritualism. All of these things are fine and all but their purpose as functional philosophies are nonexistent. Buddhism is filled with woo and is entirely reliant upon it. The things Buddhism tries to address are secular and real but the philosophy of it is reliant upon superstition

Philosophy is useless and i agree with Neil deGrasse Tyson..
Science renders Philosophy useless i mean we really don't need it anymore.
Why get a degree in philosophy anymore anyways and why learn about it...?

[One Above All]

There is nothing useful in Buddhism anymore. Buddhism needs to fade and the only reason it exist is because of culture, tradition and ritualism. All of these things are fine and all but their purpose as functional philosophies are nonexistent. Buddhism is filled with woo and is entirely reliant upon it. The things Buddhism tries to address are secular and real but the philosophy of it is reliant upon superstition

Yes, religions are based on and filled with woo. That's why they're religions. Nevertheless, if people find meaning in it (which they do - there's a use for it) and it doesn't harm others (which it doesn't, within reason), who gives a fuck?

---

Philosophy is useless and i agree with Neil deGrasse Tyson..
Science renders Philosophy useless i mean we really don't need it anymore.
Why get a degree in philosophy anymore anyways and why learn about it...?

People get degrees in philosophy for the same reason others learn about it somewhat: curiosity.
Also, you do know that fallacies and logic belong in the realm of philosophy, right?