The Perfect Religious Doctrine

[The Reality Salesman01]

Here, here!

[The Reality Salesman01]

Have sex! Often and freely! Just use protection. And if you have contracted something on your giblets, you have to tell someone before you use them to play with someone else's. Only fair.

And, when in doubt, refer to rule number 1.

[emjay]

Try to step out of the box... to be centred and mindful... even when it's more emotionally appealing to be in the box. If you get angry try and take a step back... take five, regroup... instead of feeding it by acting out even if that acting out is only in your mind. It's not necessarily easy but it's worth it... though they can be satisfying in the moment, negative emotional states (or even some positive ones), can hurt you in the long run. In other words, let shit pass and don't hold grudges, because if you don't, all it will do is bring you down in the long run.

[brewer]

Beware of people making rules and guidelines. They tend to think they have the answer for everyone.

[vorlon13]

This perfect doctrine needs some flexibility.

And it needs to be OK to change it and then either acknowledge changing it, or deny changing it.

[emjay]

This perfect doctrine needs some flexibility.

And it needs to be OK to change it and then either acknowledge changing it, or deny changing it.

I guess what it needs is a golden rule unheard of in religion... one that says 'we can be wrong, and that's okay'... kind of like Buddhism.

[vorlon13]

This perfect doctrine needs some flexibility.

And it needs to be OK to change it and then either acknowledge changing it, or deny changing it.

I guess what it needs is a golden rule unheard of in religion... one that says 'we can be wrong, and that's okay'... kind of like Buddhism.

But it needs to work both ways.

They can be wrong, and acknowledge it, or be wrong and deny it.

[TheRealJoeFish]

One of my prophets, facing his impending death, once spoke these great words:

“You put more value on every minute...You know I always kinda thought I did that. I really always enjoyed myself. But it’s more valuable now. You’re reminded to enjoy every sandwich and every minute.”

- Warren Zevon, when asked by David Letterman if his diagnosis of terminal lung cancer changed the way he lives.

As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't get much better than that: remember how valuable life is, and enjoy every sandwich, because you only get to eat so many.

Coincidentally, I'm typing this from a Subway restaurant. Praise Zevon.

[The Reality Salesman01]

This perfect doctrine needs some flexibility.

And it needs to be OK to change it and then either acknowledge changing it, or deny changing it.

Agreed, possibly a letter of promulgation at the very beginning stating something to the tune of:

1) This doctrine was drafted with the intention of maximizing, preserving, and cherishing the welfare, happiness, dignity and freedom of all conscious creatures.

2)As the complexity of conscious experience evolves, so too shall the approach in improving it. This doctrine not a complete work, and should be improved through the years to record only the best practices of behavior.

3)If there is any interpretation between an interpretation of this doctrine, and the rule of "Don't be a dick", the latter will prevail.

4) At no point shall the teachings of this doctrine be used to oppress, enslave, indignify, or otherwise mistreat conscious creatures.

5) Above all else, there can be no written substitute for the practice of sound reasoning and altruistic moral judgement. Treat this work as a collection of proven principles and not a weapon used to empower an agenda of any kind.

6) Unity and cohesive effort across all conscious creatures, striving for the same goals of happiness and well being cannot be achieved by creating borders between them. Therefore, this doctrine shall be made available to all conscious creatures, and for those who reject it, they shall be free to do so without reprisal of ANY sort under provision 3) of this document.

...feel free to add more. I gotta run!

[emjay]

I guess what it needs is a golden rule unheard of in religion... one that says 'we can be wrong, and that's okay'... kind of like Buddhism.

But it needs to work both ways.

They can be wrong, and acknowledge it, or be wrong and deny it.

Yeah I know, I just meant accepting from the start that it can evolve and that mistakes can be made. For instance I read a book about the Dalai Lama meeting a bunch of scientists and discussing the mind from all perspectives, and once he'd questioned a particular point to his satisfaction he just said to the effect 'we were wrong, we'll update our understanding'. No pride or stubbornness just a willingness to accept the truth wherever it came from.